The 26th Hunger Games
by Maxiecat14
Summary: What if District 13 wasn't "destroyed" after the first rebellion. What if they participated in the Hunger Games for 26 years before being "destroyed?" Violet Tsu knows her district's secret. Their real economy is nuclear technology, not graphite mining like everyone else thinks. They have a plan to nuke the Capitol. But what happens when Violet is reaped for the Hunger Games?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! So this is my first fanfiction I've ever written and I'm really excited to hear people think. Constructive criticism is welcome of course but don't maim me. Anyway, this story is basically what I imagine would happen if District Thirteen wasn't "destroyed" in the First Rebellion, rather it was destroyed 26 years** _ **after**_ **the First Rebellion. Also, in this story I am entertaining the idea that Alexandra's Genesis (a genetic mutation that creates perfect people with purple eyes) exists. Disclaimer: I don't necessarily believe it exists. I spent a lot of time searching the internet to see if it did but for the sake of the story, I'm just going to say it does. Hope you enjoy the story!**

 **Another Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games (obviously). This is a FANFIC. The Hunger Games belong to the lovely Suzanne Collins and may the odds be ever in her favor.**

I wake slowly, blinking the morning sunlight out of my eyes. Groaning, I throw an arm over my face to block out the light. It's Reaping Day. Sliding out of bed, I climb down the ladder from the top bunk where I sleep. Rose, my twin sister insists on sleeping on the bottom bunk because she's afraid she'll fall off the top. That works just fine for me. The bottom bunk makes me claustrophobic.

Rubbing my eyes as if that will get the sleep out of them, I shuffle over to our dresser and pull out my gray work jumpsuit. I brush out my shiny black hair and pull it into a low bun. Then I make my way into the kitchen, hungry for breakfast. Rose is already up - she's always up before me - and making breakfast. Our morning mush boils in a pot. It looks disgusting, but that's just the tesserae. It tastes fine anyway.

"Happy Reaping Day, Vi." she says with a weak smile.

"I hope you're being sarcastic," I reply, plunking down next to father.

Since it's reaping day, we have a special treat on the table. Blueberries. Hungry for something other than mush, my stomach rumbles and I reach out to take a few. Father smiles at me over his bowl as I pop them into my mouth. It must have cost him a weeks wages to get these.

"Morning, Violet. Are you ready for today?"

"I've survived two reapings," I reply. "I should be able to survive a third."

Father's eyes crinkle behind his glasses. "Let's hope so."

Rose sets a bowl before me and sits down. She's not at as much of a risk as I am today. I'm the only one who takes tesserae. Once we both turned eleven, I forbade Rose to take any. Every time you take it, another slip of paper with your name on it goes into the reaping bowl. The more slips there are, the higher the odds are of being drawn to be in the Hunger Games.

I can't let Rose have a higher chance of getting in than me.

She's much shyer than me and she could never kill anyone. She cries if she so much as scrapes her knee and can't bear to watch the games. She misses me now that I'm not in school anymore. But I couldn't stay there. I wanted to work. And I had to get away from Eddy.

Eddy.

Where do I start with Eddy. He's an annoying, selfish jerk who believes he's entitled to do whatever he wants just because his family is one of the richest in District 13. It's because of Eddy that I hate my eyes. Why couldn't I just have normal brown eyes like Rose and everyone else in this district? No, I just had to have purple.

It's apparently called Alexandra's Genesis. When my teacher told me this in school, I asked her what Alexandra's Genesis was. "A mutation," was her answer.

"Like the mutts in the Hunger Games?" Eddy had asked, without raising his hand. The teacher blinked and opened her mouth to reply but Eddy pointed at me and started chanting, "Mutt! Mutt! Mutt!"

All of his friends joined in and it took awhile for the teacher to shut them up. So yes, I hate Eddy.

It's his own stupid fault he has to pick on anyone who's different or less fortunate than him. And he has the slimmest of chances when it comes to being reaped. Though he's fourteen like me, he's never taken any tesserae. And I'm sure his father has some strings pulled whenever the reapings roll around.

Mother eats quietly this morning. She was blinded in the First Rebellion when she was mine and Rose's age. Even though she is blind, she can still do many tasks very well. The spoon in her hand never misses its mark as she brings it to her mouth and back down into her bowl again for more tesserae mush.

Father checks his watch. "We'd best be going, Violet. We want to get our work done before the reaping."

"Right," I say, scraping up the last remnants of mush in my bowl. "Wouldn't want to be late for that."

"No," my father replies very seriously. "We wouldn't." He's always very serious about the reaping. After fighting against the Capitol in the First Revolution, my father is very wary about doing anything that might upset the Capitol. If you don't come to the reaping, they'll come for you. And you can bet you'll be punished.

I go to walk out the door when a hand grabs my arm. "Be back in time to fix my hair, won't you, Vi?" Rose pleads.

"Of course," I reply, offering her a smile, the biggest I can muster on this grim day. "As long as you do mine." She nods and lets go of my arm.

As my father and I walk through the district, I see Eddy creeping up towards us in an alleyway. Seeing my father, he shrinks back with a frown. I make an exaggerated pouty face at him. He won't bully me while my father is right next to me.

To be honest, I think he's a little afraid of me after I beat him up a while ago. The result? Let's just say he won't be bullying Rose anymore.

In the shadows of the alleyway, I see one of Eddy's little cronies, Aiden. He's probably the quietest of Eddy's friends, not that it makes him any better. He never said anything mean to me but it's not like he stood up for me either. He would stand quietly in the back of the group and stare at me. Like he was afraid of me.

Good. He's a merchant's kid anyway. Not as rich as Eddy's family, but close.

Aiden stares at me today like he always does. I can see the fear in his stupid normal brown eyes. I glare at him. He hates me, I can tell. And I hate him.

When Father and I finally reach work, there is excitement in the air. Our cover business in District 13 is graphite mining. Really, we make nuclear weapons to use against the Capitol. This started back in the First Revolution and though the Capitol thought it had stopped, it hasn't. All the work is underground in a heavily armored facility. On the outside, it says "Graphite Mines" to deter any suspicions from the peacekeepers.

The whole thing is a fortress, really. So big that we call it "The Underground City." I bet our whole district could fit down here.

I joined my father in this work, determined to show the Capitol who was boss. And that's just what we intend to do. The reason for the excitement is the new weapon we have just created, that could surely do a number on the Capitol.

"We'll really show them now!" says one of the workers, Max. He's one of Father's good friends.

Laying a hand on Max's arm, my father says. "Let's hope so. It may be good for a bargain."

"Bargain?" scoffs Max. "We could destroy them easily with these nukes."

"You are that confident? Suppose they don't work. They may only be good for a convincing bluff."

"Then we'll use that bluff," I say. "It's better than nothing. Even if they don't work, I'm sure we can make the Capitol think they will."

Max nods and says. "Let's just hope they work."

After work, Father and I head back home quickly. We have to make sure we're in time for the reaping.

When we reach the house, Rose is already in her reaping clothes. A pale pink dress with short sleeves and matching shoes. It's the most expensive thing she owns. I have a matching outfit in lavender.

Rose's hair is down and she jumps up when she sees me, looking urgent. "Thank goodness, Vi. Get your dress on quickly!

"Alright, alright!" I laugh slightly, running to our room and stripping off my jumpsuit. I slip on the dress and the shoes and pull down my bun, shaking my hair loose.

Rose is ready with a brush as I come out. She braids my hair in a single four-strand braid down the back with nimble fingers.

When she's done, I do her hair in two four-stranded braids on either side of her head.

Father's smile is approving, but his eyes are worried. "You look lovely, girls."

Mother sighs. "I wish I could see you two. I can only imagine you both look beautiful."

Rose says, "Thank you, Mother." and squeezes my hand. She's nervous. I should be more nervous, having a higher chance of getting reaped, but I'm not. I guess I'm too worried about Rose to think about my own reaping.

We reach the city square miraculously on time and go to our assigned sections. Rose and I with the other fourteens and our parents in the back with the other people in the district who are oven eighteen and therefore, will not be reaped.

Our reaping host, practically bounces onstage with enthusiasm I can't tell is real or faked. His name is Theodore Keller and he's absolutely revolting. His hair is caked with what looks like white clay, his cheeks are far too red, and there are sharp black lines drawn on his face to accentuate his features. His suit is ridiculously bright and covered with pieces of reflective glass so he throws beams of light that stab everyone's eyes when he moves.

"Welcome to the twenty-sixth Hunger Games, District Thirteen!" he cries into the microphone, a little too close. Feedback whines through the speakers and he steps back with a laugh. "It appears I got a little too eager there for a moment!"

Nobody laughs.

Clearing his throat, he continues. "Right then. We had such an exciting quarter quell last year, don't you think?" The square is silent. "Well I certainly thought so!" He laughs again and claps his hands. "I think we're all ready for another reaping to spice things up a little. But first, the video! Direct your eyes to the screens please!" He swoops his hands upward to point to the two view screens on either side of the reaping stage.

Rose closes her eyes next to me. She hates this video. About how the revolution was a mistake and the Capitol brought balance to us all and to pay for our actions our children are reaped to fight to the death with only one winner. The Hunger Games is our punishment for rebelling against the oh-so-glorious Capitol, so on and so forth.

The Capitol especially hates District Thirteen. We were the main cause of the rebellion and did the most damage to the Capitol. They're still sore that even after they crushed the rebellion, our district still survived.

Despite their efforts to kill off every tribute from thirteen, we've had one victor. Lucy Lee. She sits on the stage next to the mayor in a plain gray dress and with a solemn expression on her hard face. I can't imagine what it's like to mentor kids and watch them die every year.

The video ends and Theodore struts over to the reaping bowls. I try not to think about how many times my name has been put in there on a small piece of paper. A piece of paper that could very well determine my fate.

"Ladies first!" he crows, thrusting his long fingers into the bowl. I take a deep breath as he reads the name.

"Violet Tsu."


	2. Chapter 2

**I would've posted sooner but I've been busy with the Fourth of July and other stuff. Anyway, I'm back now. Thank you, Booklover1314 for the nice review! As promised. Here is the second chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games (duh) or it's characters, setting, etc. It all belongs to the lovely Suzanne Collins.**

 **On with the story.**

Resignation.

That's all I feel.

I expected this. I was the one who took tesserae, who took the risk. I knew this could happen.

That doesn't make it hurt any less. I sigh and force my feet to move. Through the crowd. Towards the stage. A hand catches my arm.

Rose steps forward and opens her mouth and a spike of fear shoots up in my stomach. "No, Rose!" I cry, yanking my arm out of her grasp.

She stares at me, eyes brimming with tears that threaten to spill over her cheeks.

"Please," I beg. "You know you could never kill anyone."

"And you could?" she whispers back.

"I'm going to have to." And it's true. I know it. Rose knows it. She steps back, silent tears streaming down her face. And I know she won't volunteer.

Clenching my hands into fists, I march up to the stage and stand next to Theodore.

"Well, Violet. How old are you?" he asks, a little too cheerful. The microphone is shoved into my face by his long white fingers.

"Fourteen," I answer, gritting my teeth.

"Well I could have sworn you were twelve. You're so tiny!" He cackles into the mic.

I resist the urge to slap him. I'm 5' 3''. Not a bad height for someone my age in such a starving district. But short for someone my age in the Capitol, I guess.

"And who was that young lady you were just talking to down there?" Theodore asks, thrusting the mic in my face again. The cameras find Rose, still crying, in the audience.

"My sister," I answer flatly.

"Well it certainly seemed like she wanted to volunteer. How about it Ro-"

"You leave her alone, do you hear me?" I shout at him. That shuts him up.

"Right then," he clears his throat. "Onto the boys then." Striding over to the boy's bowl, he plucks out the first piece of paper he can find. "Aiden Chen!"

Great. Just great.

I find Aidan's terrified face among the other fourteens as he hears his name called. I don't want to go into the games with him. I don't ever want to talk to him. I don't want to ride in a chariot through Capitol crowds with him, train with him, _live_ with him for weeks.

 _He'll just die in the bloodbath. Then you don't ever have to see him again._ I think, and immediately feel guilty. I don't wish for his death. I don't wish for anyone's death, even Eddy. But I still don't want someone who's already my enemy going into the arena with me.

Aidan mounts the stage, his limp visible. He broke his leg a few years ago and it didn't heal properly. That'll be a big weakness in the arena. He stands, not looking at me, hands clasped in front of him.

I study him out of the corner of my eye. His short black hair is meticulously cut. He has olive skin and monolid eyes, just like me. Just like everyone in this district. And just like everyone else who's _normal_ , his eyes are brown.

"Volunteers?" asks Theodore. After a silence he says, "Shake hands then, children. Don't be all day about it."

I take Aidan's hand and glare at him. Instead of his usual fearful expression, he glares back. Both of us seem determined to cut off the circulation in each other's hands. I yank mine out of his grasp and turn away. He's back to being fearful again, his nervous eyes scanning the audience. Twisting his hands in front of him.

Just great.

 **Aidan's POV**

This wasn't supposed to happen. How did this happen? My name has been in the reaping bowl only three times. The odds are not in my favor. Eddy's eyes meet mine. They're angry. I know he knows this isn't fair either.

It's not like I could ever survive in the games either. My leg will be the death of me. Literally. I take a deep breath and stand on the stage. Next to Violet.

Of all the people to go into the arena with. I can already be sure I have an enemy. Violet hates me and all of my friends, Eddy especially. She beat him up once. I don't look forward to seeing her in the arena.

Theodore Keller asks for volunteers. The square is silent. There are never any volunteers in District 13. "Shake hands then, children. Don't be all day about it." he says in his weird Capitol accent.

I face Violet. I'm trapped in the glare of her strange purple eyes. I'm scared of her, but I can't show it. I glare back.

We shake hands. Violet's not very big but her hand clenches mine in a death grip, as if she's trying to cut of my circulation. I grip her hand equally hard and she yanks it away, facing the crowd again. I twist my hands in front of me and stare at the audience.

I'm going to die.

 **Violet's POV**

The elevator ride in the Justice building is stressful. It creaks and shakes and I can't help the feeling that we're going to drop to our deaths in this tin can before we even go into the arena.

Aidan and I are led to separate rooms. The visiting hour begins. Rose flies in the door the moment they open it and throws her arms around me, sobbing.

I try to comfort her, sitting awkwardly on the velvet couch, patting her back,

"Ro," I say. "Be strong, Ro. You can get through this."

"Promise me you'll come back," she says through her tears

"Ro, I can't-"

"Promise me!" Rose startles me. She never yells at me, or anyone for that matter.

I take a deep breath and pull away so I can look at her. Tears burn at the corners of my eyes but I force them away. "I can't make a promise I can't keep."

"Look, Vi. I don't care. I don't care if you have to kill people to do it, just come back. At least try."

"I promise that I'll try. Okay, Rose?" This is when I notice Mother and Father are behind her. I stand up to face them.

Father hugs me tightly and says. "Remember to always do your best, Vi."

I have to force back tears again because this is what he would always say to me when I was still in school. "I will."

Mother finds my hand and sits down on the couch next to me as Rose goes to Father and sobs into his shirt. "I want you to have this as your district token," she says, holding out a small necklace. A long silver chain with a small silver ball on the end. I can't remember where, but I've seen it before.

"Listen to me, Violet. Do not be afraid to resist." She presses the necklace into my hand. "Do not be afraid to do what is necessary to win. Don't be afraid to defy the Capitol when it is the right time."

I don't understand what she's talking about but I take the necklace and put it around my neck. "I won't be."

"Good." She kisses my forehead. "Good luck, Violet." I watch them go, trying to catch a last glimpse of them before the door shuts. And just like that, it's over. Nobody else comes to see me. Nobody else will miss me enough to say goodbye. I'm friends with some of the workers in the Underground City, but they won't come to say goodbye. Life in the Underground City will go on. They need to go on with their plan.

We will make the Capitol pay.

 **Aidan's POV**

My family is the first to say goodbye. My father rambles on about how he should have prevented this while my little sisters hug me goodbye. The truth is, he couldn't have stopped this. It's all rigged anyway. No matter how many strings my father pulls, there will be a price.

My mother just stands silently while he talks. I think she's in shock. To be honest, I am too. I shouldn't be going into these games. The rich are usually favored. But like I said, the whole damn thing is rigged.

Eddy come in after them. He's fuming. "This is ridiculous. They won't even let us all through to say goodbye to you!"

"So you came," I say flatly.

"Yeah. God, this is so stupid! I thought your dad was going to stop this. Fucking Capitol thinks they can mess with us." He stops and sighs. "I see you're going into the arena with the mutt," he says, meaning Violet. I nod. "People like her should be going into the arena, not you."

"The whole damn system is rigged," I mutter quietly. "You know that Eddy."

He sighs and looks at me. "You think you can win?"

"With this leg? I'd say not."

"You'd better."

"And how, Eddy?" I yell, standing up so fast my bad leg hurts. "How the hell am I supposed to survive this, huh?"

"I'm trying to be encouraging!" Eddy yells back.

"Yeah, well it's not working." I turn away. "Just go. Make this easier on both of us."

He starts to stalk out behind me and then pauses. "Aidan," he says.

"What?"

"Just...make sure you come back and not her, okay?" And then he's gone. It's not an apology. You'll never get an apology out of Eddy Wu. But I know that he does care if I die in the arena.

I don't know why I got so angry at Eddy. I don't get angry very often. Probably the fact that I'm going to die has pushed me over the edge. I suck in a breath as tears prickle behind my eyes.

I am so screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Again, thank you so much for the nice reviews, Booklover1314 and BookGirlWonder! Here is the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, therefore I place the blame on Suzanne Collins for Prim's death :(**

 **On with the story!**

 **Violet's POV**

The tribute train is fancier than anything I've ever seen. It's so big and everything is made of the finest materials. We're given our own quarters with a bedroom, a dressing room (seriously, who needs a dressing room?), and a bathroom with running water. And a shower! I've never had one.

I guess all of it's used to help us forget that we're essentially riding to our deaths.

"Supper is in an hour, so hop to it!" Theodore crows.

"Hop to what?" I ask him.

"Well, take a shower for heaven's sakes! You two smell!"

I raise my eyebrows at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's a little hard when you don't have running water."

"I have running water," mutters Aidan.

"Well thank you for reminding us," I say, glowering at him.

"Even so, today was the reaping." Theodore will not shut up. "I should hope you two would care more about making yourselves presentable-"

"Hey, Theo?" says a husky voice from behind me. I turn to stare at Lucy Lee who has just come into the compartment. "Shut up," she says, raising her eyebrows. I like her immediately. She turns to us with a sigh. "Don't listen to him. You don't have to take a shower if you don't want to." She looks directly at me. "But they are rather pleasant."

I decide to take one. And Lucy is right. It's nice to wash yourself with hot, running water. I struggle to braid my hair in the mirror after I am done. Rose always does it for me, so it's harder to do it on myself where I can't see it. Pulling out a smaller mirror from one of the many drawers, I check to see how it looks. Good enough.

Not caring how many nice clothes sit waiting for me in the drawers, I pull the purple dress back on. The Capitol won't take my home from me yet and besides, it reminds me of Rose.

I wonder how she's taking this.

In the dining car, a feast is laid out on the table. Some sort of noodle soup that tastes delicious, salad with strange peeled oranges on top, chicken and rice, and a small chocolate cake with warm chocolate syrup oozing out of the middle.

"It's called lava cake," Lucy tells me, noticing what must have been a satisfied expression on my face.

"It's amazing," I say, finishing the last bit of it. If I'm here, I might as well try to put on some weight before I go into the arena. I can easily count my ribs.

Aidan eats without a word, and when he finally finishes, he sits back and sighs. I guess even rich kids don't get food this good.

"So," says Lucy in her deep, husky voice. "I guess I'm supposed to give you kids advice." She laughs and the sound is hollow. "Well, I'm sure you can see that I've been very successful in past games." She stares at the table. I realize how young she is. Lucy won the games ten years ago when she was sixteen. Now she's only twenty-six years old and has watched pairs of District 13 tributes die for the past ten years.

"Being in the arena is no picnic. I guess that's obvious. And I guess it's also obvious that at least one of you isn't gonna make it back to your family. I'm sorry."

Next to me, Aidan sniffs. I look over at him. He's crying.

"Oh, cancel your pity party, Chen." I slap my hand on the table. This is no time for tears. He glares at me.

"Violet's right, Aidan. Unless you're trying to look weak to be underestimated, save the water works. You want to win? Start acting like you care about it."

"Why should I care?" grumbles Aidan. "I'm going to die anyway."

"That's no attitude to go into the games with."

"Oh, should I be happy then?" he yells. "This is so unfair! I never should have been reaped."

Theodore cuts in saying, "The games are a great honor-"

"Poor little rich boy," I say, cutting Theodore off. I don't want to hear him speak. "Just realizing that no matter how much your daddy interferes, these games spare nobody."

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Lucy roars, silencing us all. She sighs loudly. "Theo, please go."

"But I-"

"Leave!"

Theo scampers out of the room, muttering choice words under his breath. Lucy turns to us with a serious adult stare. "Look," she says. "I don't care if you two don't get along. I don't care if you don't want to be allies. But you have got to be civil with each other. Got that?"

We both nod.

"Aidan, everyone has a chance in the games, no matter how small. You have to play the crowd to your advantage. Sulking won't help, okay?"

"Okay," he grumbles.

"Now, Violet, you've got spunk. The audience will like that. They like anyone who will make things interesting. Also…" She pauses, looking uncomfortable

"What?" I ask.

"You may have to...use your eyes as an advantage."

I settle back in my seat and cross my arms. Of course. My stupid purple eyes. But if it will get me back to Rose…

"Violet? You don't have to use your body as an advantage if you don't want to. I'm just saying it might-"

"I'll do it," I say, looking up at her. "It's fine. Whatever." She nods.

"I'm going to bed," Aidan mutters, thrusting his chair away from the table and stalking out of the room. I notice how much he limps and for a moment, I feel sorry for him. _He's just like the rest of them,_ I tell myself. _Just like Eddy freaking Wu._

 **Aidan's POV**

Our mentor hates me. Lucy freaking Lee. She favors Violet, I can tell. So what if she has to use her eyes to her advantage? It's not that bad. The Capitol will be fawning over her as soon as we arrive.

They won't give a shit about me.

I hear footsteps outside my door. "Aidan?" someone asks.

It's Violet. "Go away," I tell her.

She sighs. "Look, Lucy's right. We have to try to...get along. Until we get into the arena, we're in this together. For District Thirteen."

"So what? Now we're friends or something?" I yell, throwing open the door.

She stares at the tears streaming down my face. "No. Never. But we're civil, understand? You don't yell at me, I won't yell at you. We'll stay out of each other's way."

"Sounds fair."

"Good," she turns to leave, then stops. Her purple eyes bore into mine. "And I'm not a mutt."

 **Sorry this chapter is shorter than usual. On Monday I'm starting a summer theater camp so updates might not happen as often. I'll try to post another chapter tomorrow.**

 **-Maxiecat14**

 **Next Chapter: Violet and Aidan meet their stylists and we have the tribute parade.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Aww. I'm sorry you're sad, Booklover1314. Hopefully you'll feel better because here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

 **In this chapter, I talk more about Alexandra's genesis and how it supposedly creates people with no body hair and perfect skin. Just wanted to get that out of the way (:**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does.**

 **Violet's POV**

The prep team took my dress away.

They ripped it right off my body. The last thing I had to remind me of Rose. Now all I have is memories.

I screamed at them to give it back, but they wouldn't listen. Now I am completely naked so they can "clean me up" before I meet my stylist.

One of the prep team, Jacobina, surveys me. "Strange," she says in a cool voice, lifting up my arm. "She has no body hair."

Another one of them, Vidia, stares incredulously. "None at all?" she says, her voice high and squeaky.

"Well except for the hair on her head, eyebrows, and eyelashes of course." The third prep team member, Caiu corrects Vidia in a nasally voice.

I stare at them. All of their strange Capitol fashions. Jacobina wears a long, tight gold dress with only one sleeve. Her chestnut hair is piled up on her head and long lines have been drawn out from her eyes.

Vidia wears a dark blue dress that does down to her knees. There are butterflies on the puffy sleeves and on her fluffy white wig.

Caiu has a tuft of turquoise hair that stands straight up on his head. His eyebrows are also bright turquoise and red eyeshadow brings out his piercing eyes. He is probably dressed the most normally in a black suit with a turquoise cravat.

"I think it's part of my mutation," I say, breaking in to their conversation. They all jump, as if they forgot I was there. "You know," I add. "The mutation that made my eyes purple. I think it's part of that."

"Oh, those are your real eyes?" Vidia squeals. "I thought they were contacts!"

I stare at her, narrowing my eyes slightly. "Why would we have contacts in District Thirteen?"

"Oh, Vidia, you've offended her." Jacobina crosses to Vidia's side and looks at me with what I think is supposed to be pity. "You know they are not as fortunate as us out in the districts."

I roll my eyes. I don't want her pity.

"Well," says Caiu, breaking the silence. "We still have to clean her up to get her ready for Maybelle. Looks like we've got less work to do!"

By the time they finish "cleaning me up," my skin is sore from all the rubbing it took to get the dirt off of me with several sponges.

They leave a robe for me when they go to get my stylist, Maybelle. I don't put it one though. Whoever Maybelle is, she probably needs to see what the shape of my body looks like. Of course.

This is why I don't like the idea of using my eyes as an advantage. They're a part of my body and why should I use my body to get sponsors? Don't they care if I have any skills that might help me in the arena? It's so degrading.

Maybelle comes into the room. She is a tall woman, plump and curvy. She's wearing a gold dress with a gold belt and her long, wide sleeves as well as the hem of her dress are lined with red feathers. Her skin is a warm, light brown color and she has a pile of golden curls on her head that must be a wig.

She smiles at me. "Hello," she says in a low, musical voice. "Violet, right?"

I shift nervously on the cold metal table I am sitting on. "Yes."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Maybelle. I'm your stylist." She holds out a hand to me. I stare at it for a moment, but accept the handshake. "I'm just gonna have a look at you and then you can put your robe on, alright?"

"Alright," I say. She walks around me, one hand on her cin, her elbow resting on her other arm. I feel uncomfortable, watching her study me so closely.

"Uh-huh. Alright. You're a young thing, aren't you. Fourteen?" I nod. "Yeah, that's what they told me. You can put on your robe now."

I pull on the robe gratefully. I notice that she hasn't mentioned my eyes yet. "Thank you," I say.

"Aww, you're welcome, sweetie. Come on, let's go have some lunch." She leads me out of the room into another room with two white couches sitting across from each other with a table in the middle. "They couldn't have added more color could they? It feels like a hospital in here." she mutters. I shrug. I couldn't care less.

The table holds our lunch. Thin steak, rice and beans, and some sort of yellow fruit that's been smashed and fried. "What's that?" I ask, pointing to it.

"They're called tostones. Made from plantains." I stare blankly. "Like big green bananas. Have you ever had a banana, Violet?"

I shake my head, feeling stupid. "No, but I've seen them. I was just never rich enough to actually eat one."

Maybelle doesn't seem to mind. She doesn't react to my statement like the prep team would have. "That's alright. Try some."

I bite into one and it's delicious. Crispy and salty.

After we've both eaten, Maybelle sits back and looks at me. "It's amazing that those really are your real eyes," she says. I frown and cross my arms. Well, it was inevitable anyway. "The prep team told me about the hair too. What a strange mutation."

"Yeah," I say flatly. "Very strange."

Maybelle seems to sense that I don't want to talk about it. "Let's talk about your chariot costume. It's going to reflect your district obviously. Graphite mining."

 _Right, graphite mining_ , I think. But aloud I say. "Yeah. What's it going to look like"

"I think you'll like it," Maybelle says with a wink. "Come and see."

 **Aidan's POV**

My stylist, Valerie, is driving me insane. She speaks in such a shrill voice that I cringe inwardly every time she says something.

After the prep team was done with me, she came in and immediately demanded that I take off my robe. "No!" I told her, angrily.

"Just take it off!"

"I don't want to be naked!" the prep team was bad enough.

Valerie huffed, blowing a curl of her silvery wig out of her pale face. "You just were with my prep team. Now take it off. It's not a big deal."

I sighed and took of the robe, throwing it on the table beside me. She stared at me, every inch of me. I could feel my face growing redder by the second."

"Good," she finally said. "You can put it back on."

We ate lunch and now we're standing in another room where she's putting the chariot costume on me.

It's a silver jumpsuit with a crown that I guess is supposed to look like chunks of graphite. The jumpsuit sleeves don't go past my shoulders, which is good, considering how hot it is outside.

After a lot of arguing, I let the prep team put silver-gray makeup around my eyes. It could be worse, I guess. I look strange, but not as ridiculous as some of the other districts always do.

 **Violet's POV**

Maybelle was right. I do like the chariot costume. I'm wearing a dark silver jumpsuit that doesn't have sleeves, just a strap that loops around my neck.

Maybelle let me keep my braid after I told her that my sister had done it and I wanted her to see it when I went out for the parade. She wove strands of silver into the braid to make it stand out more.

The final touch is a tiara, made to look like it is made of graphite stones and some silver-gray makeup around my eyes.

"Thank you," I tell her. "I love it." She hugs me in response.

We head out into the waiting area where our chariot is. Aidan stands with his arms crossed next to his stylist, a woman whose clothing choices seem to be limited to white and sliver.

"This is my partner, Valerie." Maybelle nods at the woman who offers a blinding white smile in response. "Lucy's gonna talk to you two now. Good luck." she and Valerie walk off, chatting about the costumes.

Lucy comes over to us wearing a navy blue dress and an approving smile. "You two look good," she says. "Remember to smile and wave. The crowd will love you"

"Okay," I tell her with a grin. She grins back and leaves.

I turn to Aidan, who is glaring at me. "What?" I ask.

"She likes you," he says angrily.

"Yeah, so?"

"She doesn't like me."

"So?" I ask again.

He sighs. "You know what? Nevermind." The crown shifts on his head and he pushes it back into place. "I hate this damn costume."

"I like it," I say, crossing my arms. "And at least we don't look like them." I point to the District 10 tributes who are dressed like livestock.

He snorts with laughter. "I guess."

"Or them," I say, indicating District 12. They are naked and covered in coal dust. I don't know what their stylist was thinking.

Aidan's really laughing now. He puts a hand over his face to shield his eyes. "Oh, my God. Are they-"

"Naked? Yep." We both laugh, then immediately fall silent. Why are we laughing together like this. Like we're _friends_.

Maybelle runs back over. "Let's get you kids on the chariot," she says.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Aidan is back to scowling again.

 **Aidan's POV**

The chariot is gray, pulled by two gray horses. Maybelle, who is much nicer than Valerie, shows us how to stand on it so we won't fall off.

I don't know how I ended up laughing with Violet Tsu of all people. Well we've gone back to ignoring each other, which is good.

As the chariots roll out, nervousness builds. It doesn't help that we're the last ones out so we have to wait the longest.

Once we're out, the bright lights of the Capitol shine on us, blindingly white. Triumphant music blares over hidden speakers. Violet and I both put up our hands to shield ourselves.

Once my retinas don't feel like they're burning anymore, I take a good look at the crowd. There are so many people that I feel sick. They're all dressed in fine clothes with bright colors, ready to watch us die. I steal a glance at Violet. She's _smiling_. Smiling waving.

I'm about to ask her what the hell she's doing when I remember Lucy's words. _Remember to smile and wave. The crowd will love you._ Well I don't want to smile and wave. I don't want to do anything that Lucy says.

People are chanting the names of different tributes and through the din, I hear Violet's name. "Violet! Violet! Violet!"

Why should they chant her name? Spurred on by jealousy, I raise my hand in the air and wave.

 **Violet's POV**

So many people are chanting my name. I decided to take Lucy's advice to smile and wave. Looking up, I see my picture on one of the big screens lining the track.

My eyes widen. I look so different. The silver makeup brings out my purple eyes and makes me look older. It makes me actually look fourteen, and not twelve. Maybe even fifteen.

I glance at Aidan. He's waving, but his smile is all but absent. Oh, well. If he's going to be stubborn, that's his problem.

We listen to the President's speech in the square and then meet up with our stylists and Lucy. The prep teams are chattering excitedly, Maybelle and Valerie are being congratulated for their good work, and Lucy is actually smiling, something nobody ever sees her do back in District 13.

I might actually have a chance at winning. Everything seems great until I look at Aidan. He's glaring at me. "Had fun smiling and waving at them did you. You'll be the Capitol's little pet in no time. And I thought you had some sense in you."

My temper flares up for a moment, but I force it down. "Haven't you heard, Aidan? This is the Hunger Games. Now, I may not _want_ to kiss up to the Capitol, but that doesn't matter."

I step closer to him, getting into his space. He has a good three inches on me so I have to tilt my head just slightly to look him in the eye. "What matters is what the _Capitol_ wants. To survive this, you have to play their game."

I turn quickly and march away, making sure my braid slaps him in the face.

 **Next update might come later than usual, but I'll try to get it up quickly. Thank you!**

 **-Maxiecat14**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! I know it's been a week but theater camp is now over until Monday so here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

 **Violet's POV**

When school started this year, Rose was so nervous to go without me.

"Please," she begged, "Can't you change your mind?"

"No, Rose," I told her, looking her in the eye. "I can't. Maybe you should come work in the...mines with me instead. Your grades are good enough to get a job. Just like me."

"No, I-I want to go to school. I couldn't bear making...bombs." she whispered the last word like the Capitol could hear us if we spoke too loudly. "Not even to bomb the Capitol. Please come back, Violet." She took my hands and pleaded with her eyes.

"I'll walk you there, so you're not afraid," I said. "Deal?"

"I won't be afraid," she replied, sitting up taller, "Not if you're there. You're more than a match for Eddy."

"And if he knows what's good for him, he won't bother you, even if I'm not with you."

So I walked with her. All the way to Third School, the school for kids fourteen to eighteen years old.

Eddy was standing outside with his friends and smirked as we walked up. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the mutt and her little twin sister."

"Shut up, Eddy," I scowled, walking past him, holding tightly to Rose's hand.

"Oh, but why should I?" he asked in a tone that made me want to punch him. I turned to look at him, glowering at his smug expression. "We all know you're not going to school this year, Violet. Looks like Rose will have to walk alo-"

I marched up to him so fast he barely had time to react before I grabbed his collar and held my fist close to his face. Seeing his terrified expression, I smiled sweetly.

"Let's not forget the time I gave you a black eye, Eddy." My eyes narrowed and my smile turned into a glare. " _Touch_ my sister again, and you'll answer to me."

Eddy struggled to glare back. "Why aren't you going to school this year anyway? Oh, that's right. You were too _stupid_ so you went to work at the graphite mines with father dearest."

"You know as well as any of us what's in those 'graphite mines,' Eddy." His expression grew fearful for a moment. I let go of him and looked around. All of his friends watched me with the same expression of fear in their eyes.

"Yeah, that's right. Goodbye, Eddy. I hope to hear a good report from Rose at the end of the day on your behavior." I winked at Rose and she beamed in response.

Aidan stepped into my path. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Back away, Aidan. She's not worth it." Eddy grumbled. I offered Aidan an equally sweet smile as the one I had given Eddy and walked on.

Aidan's still sour after the chariot ride. And why should I care? He's not my problem, and he's never been.

 **Aidan's POV**

Violet's such a jerk. She thinks she's so great. Her stupid braid smacks me in the face as she walks away. We step into a glass elevator that shoots up until we reach the thirteenth floor.

Funny, I always thought thirteen was an unlucky number.

Now here I am, in the Capitol, just weeks away from my inevitable death with my enemy for my district partner.

We eat dinner and watch the parades. Then I go to my room, which is as big as most houses in district thirteen. I flop on the bed and sigh. Someone knocks on the door. I groan and flop over in the other direction.

"Come in."

Lucy steps in the door. I roll my eyes. "Ugh, what do you want?"

She sighs. "First of all for you to quit the attitude. What are you, five? Second, I get the feeling you don't like me."

"How shocking. I get the feeling you don't like me either, Miss Mentor."

"Don't call me that."

"So what do you want?"

Her face softens. "For you to understand that I don't hate you. I'm hard on you, because I'm trying to help you _survive_ , okay?"

"Okay," I say, sitting up. "I got it."

"Good," she says. Lucy turns to leave and then says. "Get some rest before training tomorrow."

"I will," I assure her before adding, "Lucy."

 **Violet's POV**

My room is absolutely enormous. Easily the size of my house at home. Maybe even bigger.

Falling on the soft bed, I think about Rose. I will get to see her again, won't I? Nervousness builds in the pit of my stomach. Even if we did do a good job in the parade, that won't guarantee my safety in the arena.

Training starts tomorrow. I hope there's some skill that's good for me. I've only ever fought with my own two hands and I doubt that'll help much in the arena.

A knock sounds at the door. I sit up, taking a deep breath. "Come in?"

A girl in a white tunic comes into the room. She has golden-brown hair and blue eyes. One of the Capitol servants. They call them Avoxes, I think. She points to my chariot costume.

"Oh, yeah. You can take it." I say awkwardly. Why doesn't she speak? Is there a rule against them talking?

She's almost out the door when I ask, "What's your name?"

She looks terrified and glances around. She closes the door and points to her mouth. I step closer to her and she opens it. I gasp.

Her tongue is gone. It's been cut out. "Oh, my...hang on," I tell her and look for a piece of paper. There's a pad of paper on the table by the bed, and a pencil. Strange to know the graphite in it came from my district. I bring them over to her.

The girl takes it and begins to write very quickly. I watch her, but she keeps the writing hidden. When she's done, she hands it to me.

 _They cut out my tongue because I am a traitor. A traitor to the Capitol. That's how I am an Avox. Now I must serve the Capitol for my deeds. I won't say what I did but I can tell_ _you my name. It is Elan._

Flipping up the paper to the next page, I write: _Are you from here? The Capitol, I mean. Why can't you tell me what you did? How old are you?_

She looks at it and writes: _Yes. And I can't tell you what I did because I hate to think about it and I'm not allowed. It could give rebels ideas. I'm seventeen. I've been an Avox for two years._

 _My mother was a rebel. Her name is Chrysanthemum Tsu. Have you heard of her?_

She looks excited and writes: _Yes! She is an inspiration to me. But when she was fifteen, she was smart. I was foolish and it cost me my voice. I didn't know she was still alive. She was a martyr to me and my friends_

 _She lost her sight,_ I write, _but she's alive. The Capitol doesn't know it._

 _I'm glad. I should go. Throw these papers in the fireplace. No one can know about this._

"Of course," I say, aloud. "I won't tell a soul."

After she leaves, I throw the papers in the fireplace and watch them burn to ashes.

My mother, a martyr. Poor Elan. She didn't deserve this.


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, I'm back and it feels like forever (even though it's just been a week) but here is Chapter 6!**

 **Summary: Violet and Aidan start training and Violet finds a new friend.**

 **Violet's POV**

Training starts today. I'll finally meet the other tributes in person. I've seen them only in the recordings of the reapings. It sickens me how the tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4 all lunge forward eagerly to volunteer. These "career tributes" almost always win, which is why districts like twelve and thirteen have so little victors.

One tall, ginger-haired girl from four stands out to me though. She volunteers, but it's clear she wasn't supposed to. The career districts train their tributes and chose the ones who will volunteer to go into the games.

This girl had a friend, I think, who was reaped. In a moment of panic, she volunteered. The girl who had the volunteering rights got so angry at her, but she couldn't do anything about it.

I slide out of bed and head to breakfast, which is extravagant. There are pancakes and muffins and waffles, all hot and steaming. There's a tray of bacon and another with scrambled eggs. Colorful fruit sits in a glass bowl, gleaming in the morning sun. There is a tall pitcher of orange juice that looks amazing.

Lucy comes briskly into the room and sits down at the table. I slowly sit down across from her. "This is all a bit much isn't it?" I ask. "I mean, there's only four of us."

"Never underestimate what a man can eat when he's hungry," says Lucy, rolling her eyes at Theodore as he comes into the room. "Or a woman, for that matter," she adds and begins piling food onto her plate.

It all looks good and I shouldn't waste it, so I dive in. Aidan frowns all through breakfast. I swear, if he keeps this up, his mouth will permanently stay that way.

"...and if you want to, you can make allies," Lucy is saying. She's been coaching us through breakfast about training.

"Why would I want to make allies?" Aidan grumbles. Here we go. "These people aren't my friends. They want to kill me. How would I know to trust them?"

"That's true, but they can be helpful for a while," Lucy says, "If you don't trust any of the tributes not to kill you in your sleep, don't have any allies. All I'm saying is, it can be helpful."

"You had an ally, didn't you?" I ask. I don't remember the 16th Hunger Games, the one Lucy was in. Despite that, I've heard all about it, mostly because Lucy is our only victor."

"Yeah," Lucy whispers. "Alia Rowling, District Three. That's the thing about allies. If you do make a good one, you have to be prepared to lose them."

"Why would you care if your ally died? One less person in the arena."

I turn to look at Aidan. "Really?" I say, raising my eyebrows. "Could you possibly be more insensitive?"

"Alia was my friend," Lucy says, frowning. "And I watched her die at the hands of those damn Careers."

"How could she be your friend? How do you know she wasn't plotting to kill you the whole time?"

"You know what, shut up?" I yell, fed up with him. "It's not like you could ever know real friendship if it slapped you in the face! Your best friend is a complete asshole for no apparent reason, other than he thinks he's better than everyone."

"You think he's only friends with me because my family is rich?" he shouts back.

"Yes!"

"You don't know anything about him. And you don't know anything about me!"

"Oh, don't I?" I slam my fork on the table. "How many times did you stand by and watch while Eddy beat up some poor innocent kid, you self-entitled jerk!"

"You're just sour because one of those kids was your sister," says Aidan, crossing his arms. Tension in the room is so high, even Lucy doesn't dare interrupt us."

I take a breath, "First of all, don't you even _mention_ Rose. Second, I would care just as much if it were any other kid. And I do? Do you know how many scraped knees and bloody noses I've treated over the years. Most of the kids only in first school and pushed aside because they were in the way!"

Glancing around the room, I see Theodore suddenly has become very interested in his flashy golden watch. Lucy's watching Aidan and me like we might combust at any moment. The avoxes standing around the room are all looking at the floor as if their lives depend on it, which they probably do.

"I'm done here," I say, stalking away from the table. "See you in training, Aidan."

 **Aidan's POV**

Violet stalks away from the table after our argument and the tension in the room slowly dissipates. Lucy presses her lips into a thin line and looks at me.

"Don't you say anything," I groan.

'Wasn't going to," she replies, picking up her fork and taking a bite of her eggs. "Only that you're on your own, my friend, as far as this argument goes."

I sigh and stare at my plate for a few minutes before standing up and going to my room. My training uniform is laying out on the bed, a black shirt and pants. I pull it on and head out of the room since it's almost 10:00.

Violet's already out there, refusing to look at me.

She doesn't know me.

Nobody knows me. And nobody's going to be my ally. What difference would it make. I'm not going back home.

I'll never see my little sisters again. They'll grow up knowing that their big brother died in the Hunger Games.

 **Violet's POV**

I study the other tributes in the training room. Most of the girls are taller than me, save for a few really small ones. One girl from eleven, catches my eye. She doesn't even look old enough to be in the games.

When I look at her, she smiles at me. I decide to smile back.

The head trainer explains the rules, which are basically to not hurt any other tributes. There are many different stations so I wander around until I get to the station where they teach you how to make traps.

The girl from eleven is there and we both awkwardly smile at each other before the instructor shows us how to make some basic traps. He then leaves us alone and the girl begins to talk to me.

"My name's Aza," she says, dark eyes sparkling. Like most in eleven, she has dark brown skin and thick, curly hair. "You're Violet. I remember you from the parade. Everyone was chanting your name."

I laugh. "Yes, I am. How old are you, Aza."

"Thirteen." My eyes must have gone wide because she laughs and says, "I know, I know. I look younger. But hey, that's what starvation does to you."

"No, I get it," I tell her. "I'm fourteen and everyone thinks I'm twelve."

"You just have a young face."

"That and I'm 5' 3" and only about 95 pounds." *****

Aza shrugs. "I'm only five feet and weigh about 80 pounds." ******

"True, true." I go back to the trap and manage to get it to work somewhat. I'll come back to this station later. For now, I should see what weapons I can use.

"Want to head to another station?" I ask her.

Her eyes widen. "Together?"

"I mean," I say, "If you don't want to, I'll-"

"No, I do! I'm just surprised, that's all."

"Why?" I ask, as we walk.

Aza bites her lip. "I wouldn't think you'd like to give away your skills to another tribute."

I shrug. "As of now, my skills are pretty much non-existent. And besides," I gesture around the room. "It doesn't look like many of the other tributes are keen on hiding their abilities."

The Careers, it's obvious who they are, seem determined to show off their skills and are throwing spears and knives and slashing dummies with swords.

Aza giggles. "I guess you're right."

We head to knife throwing where a tall, blonde, muscular girl from District One snorts at us.

"Might want to try something a little easier, weaklings."

"No, I think we're good here," I say, smiling sweetly. "But if you're intimidated, feel free to leave."

She glares at us and steps back as if to watch. The trainer gives us a few tips. Aza's knife just barely hits the edge of one of the targets. The girl from One snickers and whispers to her district partner, a blonde boy who looks to be over six feet and towers over even her.

I face the target, get a grip on the knife and throw. It hits the target just barely off the bullseye.

"Lucky throw, weakling," the girl mutters before grabbing her partner and sauntering away.

Aza turns to me after the girl leaves. "Try again. Let's see if that really was just beginner's luck."

I face the target and throw again. It hits dead center. Aza claps her hands excitedly. "Good job!"

I feel a smile creeping up my face. I throw more knives, finding that my aim isn't really that bad. A small crowd gathers around to watch as I move on to moving targets. I miss the first few but eventually I get the hang of it, hitting a few bullseyes.

A few of the younger, smaller tributes clap for me while the Careers glare daggers.

I decide to sit with Aza for lunch, trying to avoid Aidan as much as possible. She tells me about her life in District 11. She has an older brother who survived the reapings (he was eighteen this year) and a younger sister who's only ten.

I tell her about my family. Rose, Father, and Mother. I leave out how my mother was a rebel. I don't know who's listening and if the Capitol finds out she's still alive…

After lunch, Aza and I try some other stations, including camouflage and the edible plants test.

"You'll train with me tomorrow too, won't you, Violet?" Aza asks when training is over.

"Of course," I assure her and as I walk away, I realize I may have made an ally. Maybe even a friend.

 **Aidan's POV**

I see Violet over at the knife-throwing station talking to some girl from District 11. There's another girl there too. She's from District 1. She says something to Violet and Violet says something back.

Violet makes a pretty good throw and the girl stalks away with her district partner. I continue to watch Violet. She keeps throwing knives and keeps hitting the target.

A crowd gathers around her. Frowning, I go over to watch. She's hitting moving targets and she's really not that bad. She's getting some bullseyes.

It annoys me that she's so good. I haven't been very good at any of the stations. I turn away and leave before she can see me.

 ***Women who are 5' 3" are typically around 115 pounds**

 ****Women who are five feet are typically around 100 pounds**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow! A new update only two days later? What is the world coming to? Here's chapter seven. Enjoy!**

 **Summary: Training continues, Violet and Aza find another ally while Aidan still refuses to have any allies. Violet learns more about Aidan's life back at home.**

 **Violet's POV**

Aza and I have fallen into a pattern during training. We meet up, practice at stations we've done before, have lunch, and then try new stations.

Today, Aza is trying to teach me how to climb. There's a net used for climbing, a wall, and a fake tree as well. Aza scales the tree easily and I am amazed. "How do you do that?" I ask when she jumps to the ground.

"Easy," she says. "Lots of kids in District Eleven have to climb the trees to watch over the fields and orchards. It's easier since we're smaller. The adults usually just stay down in the fields."

I look up at the tree and it looms over me. "Easy, huh?"

She laughs. "Try. I'll coach you through it."

"Suppose I fall?"

"Suppose there's a nice soft mat underneath you."

I laugh and start climbing. There are little knots that work well as handholds on the tree and they've included branches every now and then. Aza calls out instructions, where to put my feet and such. My hands are sweaty and cramped after a while and I lean carefully against a branch, gripping the tree tightly with one hand and wiping my hand off on my pants with the other.

"You're okay!" Aza calls from the ground. "Just a little further!"

"I can't do this, Aza!" I yell back, gripping the tree for my life.

"Look, see that branch? Grab it. Yes that one. Now put your feet on those knots down there. See, you've got it!"

Aza's instructions make it easier and finally, I've made it to the top of the tree. She claps her hands and cheers. "I knew you could do it!"

"Now I just have to get down," I say, and it's surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. I jump off when I'm near the bottom and fall rather ungracefully onto the mat.

"Should we try the wall? I ask, standing up and flexing my stiff fingers.

"Why not?" she shrugs.

We walk over to the climbing wall, which is wide enough for two people to climb at once. Aza beats me to the top (obviously), but I'm actually not that bad.

Finally, we head over to the net, which looks the hardest to climb because it twists around and isn't as solid as the tree or the wall. Even Aza can't climb it as effortlessly as she did the tree or the wall. When she hops off, she is breathing heavily.

"Good luck," she says. "Don't think I can help you much with this one."

I take hold of the ropes and start to climb. The net twists and the rope burns my palms but I grit my teeth and try to climb higher. I get up a good height before I fall off onto the mat.

"Good try," someone says, and it isn't Aza. We both whip around to see the ginger-haired girl from four towering over us. "That's a hard thing to climb," she says, indicating the net.

I scramble to a sitting position and Aza takes a few steps back. We know better than to talk to careers. The girl sighs. "I'm not gonna hurt you. My name's Phoebe." She sticks out her hand and I reluctantly take it. It's rough and weathered.

"Why are you talking to us?" Aza asks warily.

"Because the group I'm 'supposed to be with' hates me and they're all assholes."

"Because you weren't supposed to volunteer," I say. She looks at me with sharp green eyes. "That's why they hate you."

"Smart one, aren't you. Didn't think anyone outside of the career districts knew about the volunteering rights."

"If you weren't supposed to, then why did you do it?" asks Aza.

Phoebe fixes her green-eyed gaze on Aza. "I suppose it was for my girlfriend, Anemone."

"She's the one who was reaped," I recall, remembering the pale-skinned, auburn-haired girl who Phoebe volunteered for. "But she wouldn't have gone in anyway because of the volunteering rights."

"Yeah, but Vanessa, that's the girl who was supposed to volunteer, always hated Anemone. I was afraid she wouldn't volunteer out of spite so," she makes a wild gesture with one hand, "the words just flew out of my mouth."

"You must care about her alot," whispers Aza.

Phoebe laughs hollowly. "That's putting it lightly. I'm crazy in love with her. I guess that's why I did it." She sighs. "Well, I know who you are, Violet. You're going to have a lot of sponsors real quick with those eyes. I thought they were fake at first."

"Wish they were," I mutter. "I hate my eyes."

Phoebe arches a ginger eyebrow but doesn't say anything else about it. "And you are?" she inquires, looking at Aza.

"Aza Neilson. I'm thirteen years old."

"Phoebe Pacifica. And I'm sixteen."

"And I'm fourteen," I say adding, "You're not what I'd expect someone from a career district to be like."

"I hope that's a compliment."

"Don't worry, it is." The lunch bell rings. "Sit with us?" I ask and Phoebe nods. We eat lunch and Phoebe talks about District Four, Anemone, and the ocean. I've never seen the ocean. I can only imagine what it looks like.

We spend the rest of the day training together. All three of us. Phoebe is particularly good with a spear and teaches us some tips about how to throw one.

At the end of the day, Phoebe holds out her pinky to us. "Allies?"

Aza and I glance at each other. She nods slightly and I grin. "Allies." We both wrap our pinkies around her. A temporary promise, but a solid one.

 **Aidan's POV**

A few days have passed and I'm not doing so well. I can't climb well because of my bad leg and I'm awful at camouflage and recognizing edible plants. I guess I'm not too bad with a sword. But who says I'll actually be able to get one in the arena?

While I'm eating lunch, I see Violet's made another ally. It's the girl from District 4. Teaming up with a career? What is Violet thinking?

A shadow falls over me and I look up. It's the pair from seven. I'm guessing they chose to be allies, being from the same district and all. "Can we sit here?" the boy asks.

"Why would you want to?" I ask sharply, shoving a bite of bread into my mouth.

They glance at each other. "You're good with a sword," the girl says. "We...well Rowan here," she glares at him, "were wondering if you wanted an ally."

"No," I say. "Allies are stupid. Besides, how would I know to trust you. Keep up the district partners thing. Maybe you can convince the audience that you're star-crossed lovers or something."

"I told you he wouldn't agree, Rowan," mutters the girl.

Rowan rolls his eyes. "Well it was worth a shot, Laurel." They both walk away. I don't regret my decision for a second.

When I tell Lucy about it at dinner, I end up getting into another argument with Violet.

"You should be happy that you're wanted as an ally," she says in that patronizing know-it-all voice of hers.

"Well now that you're allies with a career, you're set to win. Unless she turns on you and kills you first."

"You're allies with a career?" asks Lucy.

"She's from District Four. She volunteered for her girlfriend but she didn't have volunteering rights," says Violet. Like I'm supposed to know what volunteering rights are. "Phoebe's a good person. I know she is."

"She's a career," I point out again.

"She's a good person and an ally," says Violet, her voice bordering on shouting. "And I need allies in the arena if I want a chance to see my sister again."

"You're not the only one with a sister!" I blurt out and then fall silent. Violet looks at me, knitting her eyebrows

"What do you mean?" she asks in a tone that's not far from being kind and sympathetic. It surprises me.

"I have two little sisters. They're five and seven. And now their brother is going to die in the Hunger Games before they're even old enough to understand what's really going on.

"What are their names?" she asks in that quiet, sympathetic tone again.

"Why do you care-"

"What are their names?" Her violet eyes bore into mine with a quiet determination.

"Mayleen and Sara." I feel tears burning behind my eyes

She goes quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you are," I mutter sarcastically, brushing at the few tears that have rolled down my face.

"No, I really am."

"Really?"

"Really."

I stare at her for a moment before Lucy says. "Well I'll be. You two are actually being nice to each other."

"Don't expect it to last," I tell her, picking up my fork.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry, peeps! I've been busy these past few weeks so I haven't had much time to update. Since I'm going on vacation soon, I figured I'd get an update in when I could. So, without further ado, I give you...chapter 8!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games (characters, setting, etc.).**

 **Violet's POV**

I've been training with Aza and Phoebe every day now. Today, they've started the private sessions. I'm nervous to show my skills in front of the gamemakers, though I think I've improved a lot. Still, these tests show the gamemakers how good we are. And the better we are, the more sponsors we'll get.

We go in order of district, so Aidan and I will be last. I give Aza and Phoebe a thumbs-up as they walk in for their own tests. Eventually, it's just me and Aidan and my heart is pounding.

Somebody calls Aidan's name. He gets up and limps over to the doors of the training room. I look after him, feeling my mouth open as if I want to wish him luck. I close it and watch him leave.

Whenever I'm nervous, I start fidgeting, so that's what I'm doing right now. My fingers tap my legs, the bench I'm sitting on, the wall, until the person opens the door and calls my name.

I stand up, take a deep breath, and walk into the training room.

 **Aidan's POV**

The private session doesn't go to well. I try using a sword because it was the weapon I was best with during training. I pair up with an Avox, but I get nervous and I barely manage to fend her off.

At one point, I have to stop to breathe, because my leg is hurting. The Avox stares at me, looking concerned. Her brown curls are damp from sweat and her dark eyes look worried. She glances at the other Avox in the room and he walks over to us.

"I'm fine," I hiss at him. The girl frowns at me and hands her sword to the boy. She stands back, as if to watch.

She's the only one who is watching. The gamemakers are singing a drinking song and dancing with each other up in their box. I guess that's what you get for being the last district.

I fight with the boy for a while until I feel like I've got the hang of it. But when I try to disarm him, it doesn't work. The sword slips out of my hand and slices a cut down my leg. My bad leg.

I gasp in pain and crumple to the ground. The cut isn't to deep but the stinging adds to the pain that came from standing up for so long on my band leg.

The Avoxes look concerned and rush over to me. "Get off!" I yell at them. Then I hear laughing. The gamemakers have noticed me now.

"You can go," one of them tells me, over the laughter of the others who have just now decided to pay attention.

"Yes, you're dismissed," another snickers.

My face burns and I force back tears as I limp out with the help of the brown haired Avox girl. Nobody's ever made fun of my leg like that before.

Maybe they just didn't notice the limp. I try to tell myself that on the way back to my room.

 **Violet's POV**

The gamemakers are drunk and laughing when I walk in.

"Can you believe it?" I hear one of them say. "His sword slipped. Oh, my. Well, he won't be getting a very good score. How can he be expected to fight other tributes like that?"  
"Well, that's thirteen for you," another says.

My eyes widen in shock. They're talking about Aidan. His sword slipped? What if it hit his leg?

I don't know why I'm concerned for _him_. But still. The gamemakers shouldn't laugh at him for being crippled.

I clear my throat and they look at me. "Right, the other one then," one gamemaker says. "Let's get this over with."

I glare at them and walk over to the knives. I stand carefully and begin flinging them at the targets. The first slips a little awkwardly out of my hand and misses the center of the target.

"Let's hope this one doesn't cut herself too."

That comment makes me mad. I hurl the knives with as much accuracy as I can manage. Most of the hit the center. I start again and again, until the centers of the targets are ripped to pieces.

Then, I start climbing the tree that I climbed with Aza earlier. I aim for the dummies used for spearing and knife throwing and aim while gripping the tree tightly.

Five bullseyes. I climb down as quickly as I can and move over to the wall.

Seven bullseyes.

I move on to the moving targets. Sweat pouring down my face, I aim carefully.

All of them are bullseyes.

I breathe heavily and look up at the gamemakers who are evidently stunned that I can actually do something. I take a dramatic bow, never breaking eye contact with the one who appears to be the Head Gamemaker.

He's an oldish man with graying hair and sharp, equally gray eyes. With a slightly round belly, he's obviously well-fed. He frowns at me, as if deciding something. A woman with blonde curls cascading down her shoulders sits up in her chair and stares at me, blinking rapidly.

Another woman with light brown skin, dark hair, and blue eyes walks up to the head gamemaker. "Sir?"

He shakes his head and blinks, as if snapping out of a reverie. "You're dismissed." His tone isn't quite readable. I wonder what he thought.

I leave the training room and walk to the elevator, jittery from the adrenaline that's slowly wearing off. Forcing myself to breathe, I watch as the city shoots away from me as the elevator goes up. I'll know what they scored me tonight.

 **Aidan's POV**

My leg's bandaged up, but it's still sore. Lucy tells me to elevate it by resting it on the coffee table and paces around me every now and then with what looks like be motherly concern. I wish I didn't have this stupid limp. My leg wouldn't hurt as much if I didn't. It makes me feel so weak.

Violet walks into the room, looking sweaty and excited. Lucy jerks her head up. "Well?"

Violet shrugs. "I think I did well. They seemed shocked."

Lucy sighs. "Well, we'll see tonight. I hope yours went better than Aidan's."

Violet fixes her gaze on me and notices my leg. "Ouch. So you _did_ cut your bad leg."

"What do you mean?" I ask, sullenly. "How do you know about that."

"The gamemakers were laughing about it. The jerks. Probably too drunk to care."

"Yeah, well why do you care?"

Violet sighs and crosses her arms. "Because it's wrong. It's wrong to laugh at someone who's crippled."

"I've been a cripple since I was seven years old, Tsu. That's half my lifetime. I'm used to it."

"Don't call yourself a cripple," says Lucy.

I study my hands which are clenched into fists. "But I am. That's the only word there is for it. Whatever, Lee. I'm used to it."

"Somehow, I'm not convinced," she replies before leaving the room.

 **Violet's POV**

After dinner, we watch the training scores appear on the television. Phoebe gets a ten, a normal score for someone from a career district.

Aza gets an eight which makes me clap excitedly. It's a good score for someone from eleven. She's showing them that she's not someone to be underestimated.

Aidan flinches when they call his name and they flash a five on screen. Not awful but not very good either. Aidan doesn't seem to care. He just glares at his leg.

Then they're saying my name and I hold my breath. The number 10 flashes on screen. My mouth drops open. No. Way.

Lucy cheers and Theodore squeals. Aidan glares even more.

"I'm sorry about the gamemakers," I tell him. He just shakes his head and limps out of the room.

 **Sorry it's a little shorter than usual but that's all I got right now.**

 **-Maxiecat14**


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow, I've been gone for a while. Band camp is over so I can finally write again. This chapter is mainly just flashbacks and such. I'm going to talk more about Violet and Aidan's pasts this chapter as well as Violet's mother's past. Oh, and just a warning, there will be bullying in this scene. Just saying.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.**

 **Violet**

I lie on my bed, pulling at my mother's necklace. Tomorrow, I'll have my interview and then it's into the arena. I remember Mother's words. _Listen to me, Violet. Do not be afraid to resist. Do not be afraid to do what is necessary to win. Don't be afraid to defy the Capitol when it is the right time._

This necklace is important, I know it is. But why?

Something pops into my head. A story my father told me. I must have been about nine or ten. It was about my mother. In the revolution.

 _Your mother,_ he started, _or Chrissy Cho, as I knew her, was famous among us rebels. A spunky fifteen year-old, she had made a name for herself, winning us many victories._

 _I was the same age, but what was I? A lowly technician. Helping make the bombs. Never seeing battle._

 _I was assigned to provide her with one of the bombs she used for a mission. It looked like an unassuming silver necklace. But it was deadly. And it could only be activated by the fingerprint of the wearer._

" _Are you the one with the bomb?" she asked me when she came to the room where I was working._

 _I jumped and blushed. She was very intimidating for someone her age. Strands of her short hair fell into her face as she tilted her head and narrowed her dark eyes at me. I managed to stammer out, "Y-yes."_

" _Well, where is it then?" She smiled when I didn't answer. I must have looked terrified because she added, "I don't bite."_

 _Her friends, standing behind her, giggled. One of them was a Capitol girl. About seventeen or eighteen. But for some reason she had joined us. You'll see how that worked out._

 _Did she betray you?_ I asked when he got to that point in the story.

 _You're smart, Violet. She did. I gave your mother the bomb and she was confident as ever._

 _She managed to set the bomb, but was captured. They injected her with something that took away her sight and very nearly killed her. But she managed escape before the mansion blew up. The president's mansion._

 _I found her outside the rubble and tried to help her back to our ship, but she could barely walk. I could hear soldiers coming. I saw the Capitol girl, Elena, looking at us. Her golden-brown hair was messy and her blue eyes were wide and terrified. But she didn't help._

 _I screamed at her to help me, that Chrissy was dying. She only turned and ran in the other direction. I could have sworn she whispered, "I'm sorry."_

 _I carried your mother as best I could back to the ship. Our forces struck back against the Capitol soldiers. My father was one of the men who died that day._

 _Chrissy survived and when I went to see her, I found out she was blind. She was pale and thin and when she spoke it was quiet, and unlike herself._

 _But once she realized it was me in the room, she fumbled for my hands, saying, "Daniel? Your name is Daniel, right?"_

" _Yes." I took her hands._

" _Thank you," she said. "I'd be dead if it weren't for you."_

That was where he ended the story because Rose started crying. Sh felt bad for mother. I pulled on the chain of my necklace again, realization coursing through me.

 _An unassuming silver necklace…_

My father must have made another one. _Oh, my…_

I'm wearing a bomb.

 **Aidan's POV**

My leg still hurts and I'm not doing a good job of ignoring it. Violet seems nicer now. Maybe she's only pitying me. Lots of people pity me. I feel bad about what Eddy did to her sister, Rose.

Rose shouldn't have had to bear that just because Eddy and Violet are constantly at each other's throats.

And I guess I should've tried to stop him.

" _Hey, you're the freak's sister! How does it feel to be related to a mutt, Rose?"_

 _Rose had been standing just outside the school, waiting for Violet. Eddy took this as a perfect opportunity. He wasn't able to shake Violet by hurting her. But he could hurt the one she loved most._

 _We were thirteen at the time. It was towards the end of the school year._

" _Please, go away," Rose told him quietly, hugging her arms to her chest._

" _Oh, but I just want to have some fun," he said shoving her to the ground. She whimpered._

 _I caught his sleeve between my fingers. He whirled around and I grabbed his arm. Out of instinct. "Eddy," I said nervously. "Maybe you shouldn't-"_

" _Get off, Aidan."_

 _I obeyed him. I always did. I never wanted to be on his bad side. I couldn't lose him._

" _So, Rose," he continued. "Your sister is a little bitch. And I think she needs payback for it."_

" _W-what does this have to do with me?" Rose practically whispered._

 _He yanked her up roughly. "If I can't hurt her, I can hurt you."_

 _Laughing, he threw her to the gravel beneath our feet. She cried out and I saw that her hands were bleeding. Eddy was really bad this time. He usually never went this far._

 _Rose tried to get up but her pinned her to the ground. "Please!" she screamed, and I'd never heard her be so loud. "Get off of me!" She thrashed on the ground, Eddy still laughing until-_

 _"Hey!" someone shouted. We all turned. It was all of us watching Rose. COme to think of it, it was a really sick thing to do._

 _Violet stormed down the steps of the school and yanked Eddy off of Rose, punching him in the face. "You, asshole!" she hissed venomously. "You disgusting son of a bitch!"_

 _I'd never seen her so mad. And Violet got mad at Eddy a lot. She kicked him while he was down. Over and over again. He managed to get up and grabbed her hair, yanking it so hard that it came out of its braid and she screamed._

 _He tried to hit her. That was a mistake. She caught his arm and threw him down with all of her strength. I was amazed. Here this skinny little girl who looked like she could barely hold her own schoolbooks was beating the crap out of Eddy._

 _The only thing that stopped her was one of the teachers running out of the school and yelling, "Enough!"_

 _Eddy was on the ground, moaning. Violet stood over him, breathing heavily, her hair in her face. She looked up, purple eyes ablaze with anger._

 _"You all make me sick," she said, addressing me and my friends. "You just stand here and watch him beat up kids every day. Like it's fine. I hate spoiled rich brats like you!"_

 _Violet helped Rose, who was sobbing hard, off of the ground and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Turning around, she glared at us and said, "I hope you're happy."_

 _I immediately ran to Aidan after Violet and Rose had gone off with the teacher._

 _"Eddy, I told you-"_

" _Shut up, Aidan," he pushed me away as I tried to help him up. I felt tears behind my eyes._

" _I'm just trying to help," I said. He glanced at me, his eye puffy and swollen. He was clutching his stomach and a trickle of blood rolled down his cheek._

" _You can't help," he whispered. "Nobody can."_

I was reminded, yet again, that I would never be good enough for Eddy Wu.

 **Sooo yeah. I'll explain Eddy's major assholishness in the next chapter after the interviews. Because there is a reason. But you'll have to wait (:**

 **Haha I'm evil. Until next time!**

 **-Maxiecat14**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hiiiii, sorry for not posting for a while. I've been busy with school stuff (blech). But finally, here is chapter 10.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

 **Violet's POV**

The tribute interviews are tomorrow. I try to eat as much as I can during breakfast but my stomach is churning. I have four hours with Theo and four with Lucy.

The four with Theo are absolute torture.

He goes over how to sit, how to walk, how to smile. He even gives me a long practice gown and heels that I swear must be six inches tall.

"Really?" I ask when he holds them out.

"Yes. Every girl and woman must learn to wear heels. It's common knowledge."

"No, it's really not."

"Just put them on. They'll make you much less...tiny."

"I'm not that short!" I yell at him. "I'm five-feet and three inches! I come from a starving district and I'm only fourteen years old!"

"Aidan's taller than you," Theo points out.

"Yeah because he's rich and well-fed and he's a boy. Boys are supposed to be taller than girls. That's just how humans work."

Theo looks like he's never heard of that before. He shakes hi head and thrusts the dress and heels at me. "Just put them on, smile, and try not to trip."

"You're so encouraging," I tell him. The dress is ridiculously long, even with the heels and apparently I'm not allowed to lift it higher than my ankle. Right. Because showing your ankles is so scandalous.

When lunch comes, I throw off the dress in a very unladylike manner and kick off the shoes. Then I run out of the room before Theo can yell at me.

"Good luck with Theo," I mutter to Aidan as I sit down.

"What'd he make you do?"

"Wear six-inch heels and a thousand-inch dress." Aidan laughs. I glare at him. "It's not funny. Just wait until _your_ session with him."

That shuts him up.

Lucy's training is much more bearable. She's coaching me on what to say during the interview. "You've got a good training score for someone as young as you. Be modest about it during the interview. The audience loves it when a tribute does that. Any questions you don't like, turn them right around. Compliment the Capitol. They love that too."

I nod. "Got it. Anything else?"

She sighs. "Violet, I know you don't like this. I don't like it either. But the audience has already seen your eyes and they're going to want to talk about it. You have to use that to your advantage. It'll make you just that bit more interesting."

I purse my lips. "Do I have to? Shouldn't they be focusing on my skills and not my looks?"

"Yes, but we all know that's not going to happen. The Capitol cares about looks. Backstories. You can talk about your sister."

Rose. Hearing any mention of her sends an invisible knife through my heart. I swallow. "Yeah, okay." My voice is quiet. "I can talk about her."

For the rest of the time, Lucy goes through potential questions and I answer them the best I can.

She leans back and places her arms behind her head when we're done. "Okay, you've got this, Violet.

"Really?" I'm surprised.

"Yes. And I'm not just saying that. You remind me of me. If I could bet on these mass murders that we call games, I'd be betting on you."

 **Aidan's POV**

Violet was right. Theo's session was torture. He tried to get me to walk "without a limp." As if that's actually possible with my leg. I see Violet again at dinner but we don't talk.

Theo does. Mainly to scold us on our interview etiquette. Violet calls him out for putting her in six-inch heels though. Lucy raises her eyebrows at Theo.

"Really? Six inches?"

"What's wrong with that?" he snaps, clearly on edge from the events of today.

"Oh, nothing," Lucy deadpans, "Nothing at all. Nothing wrong with wearing stilts for heels."

I force back a smile. I'm actually starting to like Lucy. Her session today was pretty supportive.

After dinner, though, she does talk to me. "I'm trying to figure out," she says, "why you worship Eddy so much? What do you see in him?"

My cheeks feel hot. "I don't _worship_ him."

"You kind of do."

"No, just shut up. Don't talk about him."

This seems to surprise her. She raises her eyebrows. "Curiouser and curiouser, Aidan Chen."

 **Violet's POV**

Today's the day. I can only hope whatever Maybelle gives me to wear is more comfortable than that awful dress and heels. And it is.

The dress is lavender covered with a lace overlay of the same color. The neckline is very modest, thank goodness, and the dress mercifully only comes to my knees. The heels are a good three or four inches shorter and made of soft silver velvet.

The prep team also curls my hair, does my makeup, and gives me long fake eyelashes and I spend a good amount of time staring at my reflection. I look so different.

Maybelle clears her throat behind me and I turn around. "Well?" she asks.

"It's perfect, really. Thanks, Maybelle."

She smiles. "Alright, Violet, let's get this show on the road."

 **Aidan's POV**

My interview outfit is relatively simple. Just a sliver suit with a black tie. I think about whether or not I should listen to any of the tips Theo gave me.

Probably not.

When we line up for the interviews, I'm startled to find that Violet and I are the same height now. I glance down and realize she's wearing heels.

"Ouch," I whisper, "are those the thousand-inch heels?" I don't know why I'm talking to her. Maybe I just need to calm my nerves.

She looks startled for a moment, but then rolls her eyes. "Not even close. The other ones were much higher."

I just nod and turn away. I can't talk to her after what she said about Eddy. If she finds out the truth about how I feel about him…

"Places everyone." I jump slightly and then we all file out into the provided seats at the base of the stage.

 **Violet's POV**

I'm sorry, but Caesar Flickerman is just ridiculous. They hired him as the interviewer last year during the Quarter Quell. He's relatively young, in his twenties I think, and wears makeup that matches his hair which is a sparkling golden yellow. It really doesn't go with his midnight-blue suit, complete with twinkling lights.

A voice from the speakers overhead announces him and he bounds out onstage with a microphone. The audience screams with delight. He may be a rookie but he's already a favorite. He tells a few jokes first, and talks about the games a little. Then, the interviews begin.

I'll be second-to-last in this case, since girls are interviewed before boys. This is my one chance to see what the tributes are like. The ones from the career districts are predictable. Most of the boys are loud, cocky, and vicious. The girls laugh far too high and far too much and like to flip their hair and flaunt their figures.

Phoebe is a real winner though. She definitely grabs the audience's attention with her striking character and wins them over with the story about her girlfriend.

Aza's interview is also good, and I'll know she'll get sponsors being both young and talented. When Caesar asks her what her advantage in the arena is, she just smiles sweetly and says, "I guess you'll have to find out yourself."

As the District 12 boy goes up for his interview, my heart starts pounding. Every word I say is crucial. I'm also particularly anxious because the gamemakers are screening our district tokens today. They don't want any tributes to have unfair advantages in the arena.

I can't help but think that as soon as I get up onstage, peacekeepers will burst through the doors and arrest me. Execute me or cut out my tongue like Elan.

"And next up, we have our female tribute from District Thirteen, Violet Tsu!"

Cheers rise up and my head snaps towards the stage where Caesar is beckoning me up. I stand up and mount the stairs, feeling as if I'm stepping onto the Reaping stage again. I have to stand the entire time and I'm to looking forward to it.

"Alright, Violet," Caesar begins, "Now, I think, speaking for everyone of course, that from the moment you stepped on that stage during the reaping you had potential."

He turns to the audience, grinning wildly. "Am I right, folks?" The responding cheer is enormous. "See! They love you!"

I muster a smile and say, "Thanks." This sends them cheering again.

"Now before we get into the deep stuff, I just have to ask this: Are...your...eyes real…" he drags out every word, "I mean, is that their real color?"

Of course, it's the first thing he asks. "Um, well, yes." I try to remember Lucy's advice. "It's a genetic mutation actually. Alexandra's Genesis?"

"Oh, they're so beautiful! Gorgeous, aren't they audience. Violet, my dear, how lucky you are."

Yes. Lucky. I nod and shrug. "I guess I am," I say with a small smile which drives the audience nuts.

"Isn't she just too cute? Now, Violet. Quite an impressive training score, hmm? And you're only fourteen, as I recall?" I nod. "Do you think you could tell us something about what happened in that training room."

He asked every tribute with a good score this question. You're not supposed to answer it, the information being confidential, but he always asks anyway. "Caesar, you know I can't tell you that. You'll have to see for yourself." I say this with a knowing smile.

"Quite correct, young lady. Ah, but I thought I'd get it out of one of you. We have just a little time left, but I want to talk about your sister. We all saw her try to stop you at the reaping. You two are close, no?"

I close my eyes and imagine I'm talking to Rose. "Yeah, really close. Her name's Rose. We're twins, well, except for the eyes." This gets a gentle laugh.

"Would you like to give a message to her right now?"

I take a deep breath. "Yeah, sure." I clear my throat. "Rose, I know you're watching this and I want to tell you to not worry. However impossible that may be, I want you to try. If anything happens...don't let the jerks at school get to you. Keep taking care of Mother and Father. Stay strong, because I know you are."

The buzzer goes off and the audience groans. "Best of luck, Violet." Caesar says.

 **Aidan's POV**

I don't want to do this interview, I really don't. I can barely pay attention to Caesar's questions and usually answer with a yes, no, or just a nod. When we're reaching the end of the time limit, Caesar asks me if I want to say anything to someone at home.

I blink, barely hearing the question. "What?"

"Do you have a message for anyone at home? Friends, family?"

"Umm," my mind blanks and I close my eyes. Eddy. My eyes snap open. "Eddy, I know everyone thinks you're horrible and to be honest, you kind of are.

"You bully other kids, push them to the ground, yell at them, but nobody knows why. I won't say why, since I'm on television and all and it's private, but I know there's a reason. You won't admit it but I know there is.

"I want you to know that I know. And that I care Eddy." I swallow. "Because I'm your friend. No matter what."

The buzzer goes off. Caesar seems shocked for a moment, probably because this is the most I've talked the whole interview. My cheeks burn under the bright lights above the stage. "Thank you, Aidan. Good luck."

I practically run off the stage. When I meet up with the prep teams, Lucy, Theo, and Violet, I don't say anything.

Violet does, during the ride back to the hotel. "That was some speech."

I glare at her. "Shut up."

"Geez, I can't be nice? The audience loved it, okay? You're more interesting now. More worth their time."

"So, I wasn't before," I mutter.

"No, not really."

"Are you taking their side?"

She huffs out a breath. She seems stressed and I don't think it's just from the interview. "No. I'm seeing things from their twisted, sicko perspectives."

I can't sleep that night so I sit by one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooks the city. Bright colorful lights twinkle and flash everywhere, illuminating the streets in lightning-like flashes. It takes me a few minutes to realize someone is watching me.

I turn away from the window to see Violet. I sigh and turn back to the window. "What do you want?"

"I couldn't sleep so I got some food from the dispenser and came out here." She crosses over to the window and sits across from me, setting down the steaming plate she's carrying. "Figure I should eat while I can."

I glance at the food. "What's that?"

"Pork dumplings." She picks one up and bites into it. Pork juice dribbles onto her chin. "Want one?"

"No, not really."

We're silent for a while. I watch cars go by on the streets below. Violet leans against the glass. "Are you going to say anything?"

"About what?" Why is she talking to me? Can't she just go back to bed?

"Maybe...what you said today? What did you mean when you said there's a reason why Eddy is such an-"

"Asshole? Because that's all he is to you right?"

"He beat up my sister, Aidan. Because he knew it would get to me. What the hell did she ever do to him? Nothing. And now you're saying there's a reason?"

"Yes!" I almost shout, but then lower my voice. I don't want anyone to hear us. "His dad is an alcoholic and a shitbag. He hits him and yells at him so that's the only thing he knows. Eddy's mother can't even help because she's terrified of his father. SHe sits in her room every day, slowly going mad."

Violet's eyes widen. "I didn't know. Geez, that's all he knows isn't it? Hitting and yelling."

"He can be a good friend."

"If he deems you worthy of his attention."

I sigh. "True."

"And you were worthy of his attention." Violet tilts her head. "Why is that?"

My cheeks burn fiercely. "I don't know. Maybe it's just because I'm rich, like you said."

"I don't think that's it."

"Well, to hell with what you think!" I stand up abruptly, wincing at the pain in my leg.

"I'm going to bed." I mutter and limp away.


	11. Chapter 11

**Violet's POV**

I come awake slowly, not wanting to pry open my eyelids and let the harsh morning light in. I barely got any sleep last night. Most of the night was spent staring out the window and eating myself sick with dumplings.

I'm so paranoid about starving the arena and yet, I don't want to be too full because it will slow me down.

Instead of opening my eyes, I let my mind wander. Today is the first day of real horror for Rose. For Mother and Father. Today could very well be the last day of my life.

Funny how I'm so calm about that. Maybe the truth hasn't sunk in yet. My brain doesn't really believe I could actually die.

And then there's Aidan. I know he's hiding something about his feelings for Eddy. But I couldn't confront him outright last night. It seemed wrong, even if we do hate each other.

That's another thing. We're getting along better now. To the point where I'm really hoping he at least does well. I want him to see his family again. Hell, I want him to help _Eddy_. For the first time in my life, I'm concerned about Eddy.

But of course that would mean I would die and never see my family again. I don't really think they could take that.

I open my eyes. Sighing, my breath hitches. The nervousness is sinking in. I get up and force myself to order a glass of milk from the food dispenser. I walk around, sipping it slowly as my stomach twists uncomfortably.

I really shouldn't let my mind wander this much. Who knows what could happen. Maybe it would get lost.

 **Previous night…**

 _This is the last one,_ Marcella Luna thought to herself, pushing wisps of her black hair out of her blue eyes. _Then I can go to bed._ The gamemaker sighed.

Screening the district tokens was tedious work. If any item gave a tribute any advantage, it had to be confiscated. A few had been too. The boy from four and the girl from two.

The boy had tried to bring a shark tooth necklace. That could be used as a knife.

The girl had brought a bracelet. If you twisted the gem on the bracelet, it popped off, revealing poison inside.

She had just finished the boy from thirteen. He had a simple gold ring. No sharp, pointy edges. No poison. Just an engraving. _E.W._ It had been found in a pocket in his set of clothes that he'd left on the train.

Now it was the girl's turn. She had some sort of silver necklace with a heavyish ball on the end. She used a scanner on the ball. Nothing came up. She twisted it, banged on it, tested it in every way possible. It passed every test.

"Still working, Marce?" a voice asked. It was Kitty. The blonde sat down next to her, tossing her immaculate curls off her shoulder. She took a sip of her coffee.

"Always," sighed Marcella, turning back to her work.

"C'mon, Marce, that's the last one. You need sleep. I'm sure it's fine."

"I don't know," Marcella frowned, rubbing the ball between her fingers. "Something about it isn't right. You remember her don't you? Tiny little thing with purple eyes. She was good. Really good."

"Uh, yeah." Kitty rolled her eyes. "Marce, it's nothing, trust me. C'mon have some coffee, you need it."

"Are you sure it's nothing? Something about her made Jax feel off," Marcella argued, referring to the Head Gamemaker.

"I think that was the wine," Kitty commented. "He drank a lot of it."

"You're probably right," Marcella sighed. She placed the necklace in a box and scribbled _Cleared_ on top of it.

It was nothing. It had to be.

 **Aidan's POV**

Violet is deadly quiet all through breakfast. I must be too, I guess. I can't eat and I couldn't sleep. But I don't feel tired. I feel unnaturally awake.

We're brought onto a ship that will take us to the arena. They inject us with the trackers and I stare at the lump in my skin, prodding it occasionally.

Of course, we can't actually see the arena yet. I'm brought into a small room underneath where Valerie will help me get dressed in whatever they decide to have me wear.

Valerie is the last person I'm going to be seeing before I do into the arena. I could puke.

The outfit is fairly simple. Black shirt. Tan pants. Grippy shoes good for running. A jacket that can be worn two ways.

"If you need to be warm, face the black side up. It reflects heat. The white side reflects cold," Valerie tells me.

I nod, barely listening.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," Valerie pipes. "Your district token was cleared."

"District token?" I raise my head slightly. "I wasn't given one."

"Don't be silly," she squeaks, pulling a gold ring from her tiny silver bag. "It's right here."

My breath catches when I see the ring. I snatch it out of Valerie's hands, recognizing it immediately. Searching the inside of the band, I find the engraving. _E.W._

"Eddy," I whisper. He must have put it in my pocket somehow when he came to visit me without me noticing. "How the hell…?"

"All tributes, please enter capsules now," a robotic voice announces.

Trembling violently, I slide the ring on my finger, stepping shakily into my capsule of death.

The glass door closes and it starts to rise.

 **Violet's POV**

"You alright, honey?" Maybelle asks in her warm voice as she helps me put on my arena clothes.

I nod, perhaps a little too rapidly. I stroke my braid absentmindedly. IT's so perfect. So familiar. It calms me a little.

"Violet," Maybelle says, bending down to reach my gaze. I look up. "I'm betting on you."

"Hope you don't lose your money," I blurt out.

She looks genuinely sad when she whispers, "Me too." She pulls me into a hug and we stay like that for a while.

"All tributes, please enter capsules now."

"Might want to take this." Maybelle holds out my necklace.

"Thanks," I say, voice wavering. I'm relieved they didn't take it. But I don't even know how to use it or if it will help at all.

I step up into the capsule and the door closes. I wave to Maybelle as I go up and she offers a comforting smile.

My heart is in my throat, my mouth dry. My breath comes in gasps. I force myself to calm down as I rise up into the arena.

Immediately, I take in the walls around me. Hedges. Miles of green hedges and concrete floors. All surrounding the golden Cornucopia, supplies spilling out of it. Knives shine and bags and boxes of food can be seen.

But I can only focus on one thing.

The arena is a maze.


	12. Chapter 12

**Violet's POV**

My head whips around to survey my surroundings while my feet stay frozen and rigid. I don't dare take a step lest I set off the bomb on my pedestal.

I can't tell what's a dead end and what's not. My heart pounds in my ears as anxiety and dread threatens to consume me. A sick feeling invades my stomach and I try to push it away.

Forcing myself to breathe, I scan the other tributes. They all look scared to. I lock eyes with Phoebe across the circle and she makes a subtle gesture with her head towards the cornucopia.

I follow her gaze and see, piled among the other weapons, some sort of grappling hooks. Perfect for climbing the walls of the maze. I give her a subtle nod and mouth, _Where's Aza?_

She cranes her neck to look around the cornucopia. _On the other side,_ she mouths.

The screen above the cornucopia flashes and a the voice that has been counting down this entire time becomes louder.

"10…

9…

8…

7…

6…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1!"

 **Aidan's POV**

Still shaken from the ring, I stare at the walls of the maze, rising up into the mist above. A maze. It just _had_ to be a maze. My mind wanders, knowing how many dead ends I'll run into.

I'm going to die anyway. I've known that for a long time. But something about Eddy's ring givesme a confidence I didn't have before.

Feeling sick and jittery, I make a decision. I'm going to go for the cornucopia. Maybe I can get my hands on a sword and then...well at least I'll die trying.

The final count goes off and the other tributes sprint off of their pedestals with a speed I wish I had. My leg pulses with pain with every step I take but I ignore it. I need to be faster.

The pain only gets worse as I force my body to speed up. I reach the cornucopia, searching the supplies desperately for a sword. I find one, grab it and start running away from the bloodbath.

Someone grabs me and I nearly fall but I shove them back and keep going. I duck down corners of the maze blindly, praying that I won't run into dead ends.

 **Violet's POV**

Reaching the cornucopia, I head straight for the knives. Another girl goes for them too, but I shove her aside. Grabbing as many as I can, I clutch them tightly and search for a backpack. Anything that might have food in it.

Finding one, I slip it over one shoulder the best I can and feel someone grab it, trying to yank it off my back.

Whirling around, I stab them, hitting their arm. It's a boy. From what district, I don't know but just as soon as he stumbles back, he starts at me again.

"Duck!" someone yells. I do, out of instinct and hear a sickening noise as a spear tears through the boy's body. I flinch as drops of his blood land on my face.

Phoebe stands over me, seemingly unfazed. She pulls the spear out of his body and asks, "Have you seen Aza?"

I shake my head For a horrible moment, I wonder if she's been killed. But then I see her, weaving her way through the chaos and holding...three grappling hooks.

"Aza, you're a genius!" I shout. "How did you get those?"

"No time for chit chat," says Phoebe, slinging one of them over her shoulder. She starts to run and Aza and I follow.

"The...careers are looking...for..bigger weapons. Swords...knives...spears and such. Didn't...notice me grab these." Aza pants out every word, her tiny legs fighting to keep up with Phoebe's long strides.

We enter the maze, running down a few passages before we reach a dead end.

"Let's see how well these work," comments Phoebe, aiming the hook at the top of the wall. She presses a button and it shoots up, wrapping around the hedge.

"Nice," I gasp, trying mine as well.

We start to climb, the hooks making the process much easier and faster. The hedges sink slightly beneath our feet when we reach the top, but I can see stone in the distance. Perfect for running on top of.

I point it out to my friends and we make our way towards it as fast as we can. We can see other tributes darting in and out of the shadows down below.

After what feels like an eternity, we reach the stone part of the maze, finding we can run across it much easier.

"Look," Aza pants, bend over and holding her knees when we take a break. "Down there."

There's an opening in the maze with flower bushes and a statue of President Snow surrounded by four wooden benches.

I glance at Phoebe, she seems to be the leader of the group, and she grins. "Perfect."

We latch our hooks onto the wall and rappel down to the ground. There's only one entrance to this area and we're so far into the maze that it should be safe for now.

Phoebe sits on one of the benches and sighs. "Great work girls."

Plopping down beside her, I ask, "Should we look over out supplies? See what we've got?"

"Sounds good to me," Aza replies. She has a pack as well and so does Phoebe. We spread out what we have across the soft, perfect grass that covers the ground in this area.

I have a few containers of dried food and an empty water bottle, as well as a blanket and my knives.

Aza has medicine in her back and somehow managed to grab an arrow from the bow and arrows that I had seen on the weapons rack.

Phoebe has another blanket and a light, as well as a canteen that actually has water in it.

She takes a small, tentative sip and declares it safe to drink. So we do, trying not to drink too much. It's difficult. My throat is dry and a small sip doesn't help much.

"So I guess we should set up camp here," muses Aza, leaning back on her hands.

"Guess so," Phoebe replies. Then she sighs again. "I'm going to be honest here. I'm really glad you girls are alive. I'd hate to be alone right now."

"Definitely," I say. But then I start to wonder. Can we all trust each other? We all know that even if we all survive to the end, only one of us can win. I try to push away the thought that Phoebe would kill us in our sleep.

 _She's not a career,_ I tell myself sternly.

We eat some of the crackers from my backpack and have a little more water. Since there are only two blankets and Aza and I are the smaller ones, we share.

The night is cold and I'm grateful for the heat-reflecting jacket.

Thirteen tributes have died. Their faces flash across the sky. One of them was the boy who Phoebe killed. There are no careers. There is no Aidan.

 **Aidan's POV**

I don't think I've ever run so much in my life. I find a small clearing with an artificial pond, but I don't drink the water. You never know what could be in it and it would be a stupid move to drink some, no matter how thirsty I am.

I wish I had gotten some food or water at the cornucopia. I slap myself on the forehead, cursing my stupidity.

My leg, now screaming with pain from running so much, gives out and I collapse to a sitting position beside the pond.

Maybe I can spend the night here. I have my sword to defend myself. But I'm already feeling the effects of not having any food. I've always had enough to eat and the rich food in the capitol didn't help.

My stomach growls and I glare at it. _Shut up. I'll find food tomorrow._

Lying down on the mossy ground beside the pond, I close my eyes and am immediately taken over by exhaustion.


	13. Chapter 13

**Violet's POV**

In the morning, we scale the walls and start off again. To stay in one spot for too long wouldn't be wise. I don't know how many grappling hooks there were, but hopefully not too many of the other tributes have them.

Every time I see a shadow down below, I tense up. I try to tell myself it's nothing, that any tribute darting around below us wouldn't be able to see us anyway.

It doesn't help much. I grip one of my knives that I keep at my belt loosely at all times. It scrapes against my pants, making a soft swishing sound.

Eventually, we find a fountain in one of the maze's clearings. After rappelling down the wall, Phoebe and I fill up our water bottles and drop purifying tablets into them so they're safe to drink.

None of us have really spoken much all day, but I risk asking, "Do you think there are any animals running around the maze?"

"Probably" replies Phoebe, swishing her water around impatiently. It's not ready to drink yet. "I've seen a few little things scurrying around here and there."

"Why do you want to know if there's animals?" asks Aza.

"Food," I reply simply.

Her eyes go wide. "Oh."

Smiling, Phoebe pats her on the back. "We'll make a huntress out of you yet, little one."

"I don't want to kill some poor luckless creature," Aza protests, reminding me of Rose. Rose hated even seeing animals hurt.

"We can kill anything we see for you, okay?" I say. Aza brightens slightly, looking relieved, and nods.

As if on cue, there's a rustling in the rose bushes behind us. I turn to see a soft-looking brown rabbit, its wide dark eyes trained on me. When its gaze flits away, I raise my knife and take aim. I hate to do this to the poor thing, but we need food.

At the last second, it sees me and darts away. I sigh dejectedly and lower my knife.

"There'll be more of them," Phoebe declares, taking a long sip from her water bottle. "It's ready. Let's keep going."

"Where exactly are we going?" questions Aza. I've been thinking the same thing. Phoebe is definitely leading us somewhere specific.

But Phoebe doesn't answer, just scales the wall and waves to us to come up as well.

Aza and I look at each other, but I shrug and throw up my hook.

The maze really is gigantic. By the time we stop, the sun is starting to set, casting an orangish glow across the arena.

"Phoebe where-" I finally start to ask before she shushes me.

"Look," she whispers, pointing.

The cornucopia. We've made it back to the cornucopia which shines in all it's golden glory. A small group of tributes mills about the structure.

The careers. My heartbeat quickens, "Phoebe, what are we doing here?"

"Spying," she whispers.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Aza whispers worriedly.

"'Course it is. They won't see us. It's already dark. And we can camp out down in that little clearing."

She points to a grassy area with a tree and a miniature river running through it. They really did all they could to make this maze pretty, didn't they?

I'll admit, I'm nervous being this close to them. But Phoebe is obviously a natural leader. And I've put my trust in her.

The only thing to do now is to stay on my toes.

 **Aidan's POV**

When I wake up the next morning, I'm in the same clearing. My throat is dry and I glare at the sparkling pond next to me. I have to find some goddamn water that I can trust. The pond is too perfect.

Its glassy sky blue surface taunts me and I turn away, glaring at the sun. At everything. I really need food.

As I push myself off the ground, something digs into my finger. It's the ring. I inhale sharply and look away from it, knowing every camera is greedily trained on me this instant. If they saw the engraving, they'd put two and two together.

Violet already has. I could see it in the way she looked at me. She knows. And that makes me boil up with anger and embarrassment. Screw her.

I remember the first time I met Eddy. It was before we were even old enough for school and I used to play outside a lot. I played by myself, being five years old and not having any siblings yet. I remember this other boy was outside one time. He looked nervous, like he was running away from something.

" _Hey," I called and he whirled around._

" _Shh!" he said desperately. "I'm hiding from my father!"_

" _Why?" At the time I knew you weren't supposed to run away from your parents._

" _He's mean," the other boy pouted. "Who are you anyway?"_

" _My name's Aidan," I said. "What about you?" I stood up from the ground where I had been playing will a small rubber ball._

" _Eddy," the boy said, crossing his arms. He came off as a little standoffish but I felt bad for him. Someone who ran away from their father definitely had a hard life._

 _We stared at each other for a moment before I asked. "Wanna play with me? You can stay here if your father's so mean to you."_

 _His eyes narrowed, as if he wasn't used to people being nice to him. "Okay."_

So he came over to me and we bounced the ball back and forth. Soon we were running after it and giggling like all little kids do. And when you're that little, it's that easy to make a friend.

" _What does your dad do that's so mean anyway?" I asked after a while._

 _Eddy looked at me darkly. "None of your business."_

None of your business, Aidan. You can't help. Nobody can.

 **Sorry this is a shorter chapter and not much happened but I wanted to do a little more backstory on Aidan before I get to all the action. :)**

 **-Maxiecat14**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ugh. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. School and band and stuff has been super busy so...yeah. Anyway, I'm back now and we'll finally have some action in this chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

 **Violet's POV**

 _As Rose and I walked to school, hand in hand, not daring to make eye contact with anyone, we were scared. Even though our parents were but ten paces behind us, we clung to each other like one of us would disappear if the other let go._

" _I don't want to start school. I'm scared." Rose whispered, bottom lip trembling._

" _We have to. Everyone does." I glared at everyone who stared too long at us. Even at six years old, I would protect Rose no matter what._

 _A group of kids stood outside the building for First School. They were laughing and shoving each other. Playing tag, playing with balls. All of them happy and normal._

 _A boy with spiky hair spotted us and smirked. "Wanna play? Unless you're too scared."_

" _Am not!" I responded._

" _What's with your eyes? Why are they purple?" He said this all with a smug look that I thought a six year-old could never achieve._

" _They just are," I replied._

" _Does she talk?" the boy asked rudely, pointing at Rose. "Hey, do you talk?"_

 _Rose looked terrified and gave no answer. "Not if she doesn't want to. Why do you care anyway?"_

" _I don't know. You're weird."_

" _Eddy," a man said gruffly. "Get over here now. You'll be late for class."_

 _Eddy's smug expression faltered. "Fine. Bye, weirdo."_

" _I do not want you talking to people like that, do you hear me?" the man whispered, ushering Eddy away._

 _I knew it even then. We were freaks. Both of us._

"Get up! Get up!" someone screams, jolting me out of my dream.

The careers are on us. Phoebe swipes her spear in an arc to ward them off. My knives are out in and I stand and I stand next to Aza, who is frozen with fear. "Hello, _Phoebe_ ," her district partner sneers. "Have a nice nap? Anemone probably won't like you sleeping with other girls."

Phoebe flushes red with anger. "Shut the hell up."

"We don't like people who shouldn't be where they don't belong," the blonde girl from District 1 hisses. She lunges at Phoebe menacingly. "You were always going to die anyway."

Keeping her eyes on the careers, Phoebe addresses me and Aza. "Violet, Aza. I'm sorry. Just do exactly as I say, please."

Thrusting the spear into the blonde girl's stomach, she yells, "Run!"

The cannon from the dead girl seems to sound us off. Aza and I are flying across the ground to the wall, fumbling with our hooks as two of the careers chase us. I manage to get mine up the wall and help Aza. We scramble up the wall, just out of reach and the two who chased us roar with defeat.

I throw one of my knives at the remaining girl and it lodges in her shoulder, wounding her rather than killing her. I don't even care. I just grab Aza's hand and run. We run for what seems like miles until we hear another cannon. Just one.

I stumble to a stop, hand over my mouth. I wait for more. There are none. There's only one of her and four of them...

Aza sobs and I wrap my arms around her, tears numbly falling down my cheeks in shock.

Phoebe's dead.

 **Aidan's POV**

I wake up, no better than before and force myself to move through the maze. It's agonizing work, but I make it to another clearing. A tree with shiny red apples that look too good to eat. And underneath it…

"Hey!" Rowan, that boy from seven stands up. "You!"

I try to limp away but he slams me onto the ground. "Looks like Laurel and I can finally get a kill in. You should've agreed to be allies with us."

I fumble for the sword at my waist, which is difficult because he has my arms pinned down.

Laurel comes into my view, gripping a knife, bringing it down. I thrash out of Rowan's grasp and grab the sword. Her knife his my leg instead. My bad one. Of course.

I cry with pain, tears blurring my vision. Bringing up the sword, I thrust it it in the general direction of her body.

All I hear is a sickening noise and blood drips on my face. I hear Rowan shout, "No!"

Laurel falls to the ground, her breathing shallow. He whirls on me but I manage to get on one knee and shove the sword into his chest too. He gasps and looks down at the wound, before crumpling beside Laurel, the sword still in his body.

I can't believe what I've just done.

My body shakes violently and the entire world around me spins and whirls. I feel myself hit the ground as everything goes black.

 **Violet's POV**

Aza is still in shock over Phoebe's death. She stares straight ahead from our spot on a bench. We dared to go back to one of our previous clearings, knowing where it was.

The anthem plays and I look up at the sky. My heart winces as Phoebe's face flashes across the sky, along with the girl from one and both from seven.

Aza starts to cry again, softly. I wrap my arms around her again and she leans into me. "Her girlfriend," she manages to hiccup out.

"Yeah," I say, feeling sick. _Rose just watched that_ , I think. _It could've been me, but it was Phoebe_. Anemone must be devastated, numb with grief. I dare not think how Rose would react to me dying.

"I want to go home." Aza sobs, like a small child. She is one though, I realize. She's only thirteen. She shouldn't have to do this. Nobody should.

"I know, Aza, I know." I rock her back and forth. _More than anything._

 **Sooo...yeah. A lot of drama in this chapter. And yes, Phoebe is dead because this is the Hunger Games and people are going to die (no matter how much you love them.) Until next time!**

 **-Maxiecat14**


	15. Chapter 15

**Oh, hi. I'm back. School has been suuuuper busy so if I don't post a lot I am very sorry. Also, I'm having major writer's block on my other story so I'm going to leave that one alone for now. Sorry. :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

 **Violet's POV**

Aza and I do nothing but walk the next day. I steal a few glances at her throughout the day to see how she's coping with Phoebe's death.

Her eyes constantly stream silent tears and she turns away when I look at her, as if she doesn't want me to see her crying.

This puts a pain in my chest and I try to ignore it. But I can't. Phoebe's dead. We saw her face flash across the sky. Nobody I've ever known has died.

Aza's quiet, heartbroken manner reminds me of Rose, which makes it even worse. Sometimes, I see her walking beside me instead of Aza.

I can't bear this. I have to say something. "You don't have to hide your tears."

Aza glances at me. "Didn't want you to worry. There are more important things to be worried about right now."

"No, this is important." I stop walking. The shade of the maze walls around us calms me after the searing hot temperatures we've had the past few days.

We've wandered into an area full of cornstalks. We took a few, not knowing if they were safe, but then saw some crows picking at them. Nothing happened so we tried them. No ill effects so far.

"Look," I say, my voice cracking. "Phoebe's dead. And no matter how important it is to keep going, you can't think it's not important to remember her."

"I just-" Aza's face crumples as fresh tears begin to fall down her face. "I just want to go home!"

"Me too," I whisper, wrapping my arms around her. She sobs into my shoulder. I squeeze my eyes shut and tears leak out of them. "I can't stand this, this...not talking to each other. Do you want to talk? I'll tell you anything. Anything to break this damn silence."

"Okay." She wipes her eyes and sniffs. "Why do you hate Aidan?"

I stiffen slightly at that. "It's a long story."

Aza smiles hollowly. "We've got time."

So I tell her everything.

Our first day of school.

The name-calling.

Eddy pushing Rose to the ground, yelling at her.

Aidan just watching.

All the time just watching. The times I wanted to scream at him, _Do something!_

The fear in his eyes when I beat Eddy to a pulp. When he realized I could be dangerous.

"Eddy's the one he talked about in the interview," Aza comments quietly.

I nod.

"He said...there's a reason why he's like that. You know, so angry all the time."

"His father hits him. His mother, I don't even know. She's traumatized, I guess. Just sits in her room all day."

Aza thinks for a moment. "Do you think that excuses him? For being such a jerk?"

I turn to stare at her. "Absolutely not! It just, gives him a reason for his anger, that's all."

"Do you think," she starts. "I mean, if you forgave him for what he's done, would he accept your forgiveness?"

"Doubt it," I retort angrily. "And that's his problem. He doesn't care. And that's why I won't forgive him."

Aza looks thoughtful for a moment, then nods. "I see your point."

I stare up at the artificial sky, knowing that even though we're alone right now, all of Panem is watching us.

As the sky starts to darken, the anthem plays. There are no deaths tonight.

* * *

I sleep restlessly that night. Aza morphs into Rose and back to Aza again as we run down a never-ending path in the maze. Except suddenly it's not never-ending, there's a wall, a dead end.

I reach for my grappling hook but it's not there. My hand brushes against my lavender reaping dress and I turn to see Rose crying next to me. _Promise me you'll try to win._

I try to answer her, but I can't talk. Suddenly I'm on the reaping stage, next to Aidan. He doesn't react to me. Everything is dark except for a shaft of light in front of us. The President steps forward, only, it's not the President. It's Eddy.

 _Bring forward the prisoner._

Rose is thrown forward into the circle of light, hair tangled, clothes torn. I try to yell her name but no sound comes out.

Eddy turns to me. _You could save her if only you could speak._

I practically scream in frustration. He morphs into Phoebe who stares at me, her green eyes hollow. _You could have saved me if you'd tried. Now you can't even save your sister._

 _I can!_ I yell at her, _Just let me speak, please!_ But she didn't react.

 _Proceed with the execution._

The sound of a cannon rings out, not unlike the ones that mark the deaths of fallen tributes. Rose drops to the ground.

I scream even louder, dropping to my knees and sobbing. Laughter rings out all around me and I press my hands over my ears, trying to block out the sound. It only gets louder.

Looking up, I see Aidan still standing there, watching calmly. _Do something!_ I scream, and my voice is back, echoing around me, cutting off the laughter. He doesn't react. I grab him and shake him. _You always just watch! You can stop this! Just do something, please!_

He looks me dead in the eye and opens his mouth. Aza's frantic voice comes out of it. "Violet, help!"

I wake up to another nightmare.


	16. Chapter 16

**Violet's POV**

The careers are on us again.

I'm really getting tired of this.

I scramble up from the ground, instantly awake. Aza stands next to me, trembling, and I pull her behind me, narrowing my eyes at the careers.

"Well, hello again," the district four boy says, smirking at us. "Our meeting was rather abrupt last time, don't you think?" I don't answer. He steps closer to me. "I think we got off on the wrong foot-"

"That's putting it lightly," I mutter.

He rolls his eyes. "Phoebe deserved to die, purple eyes. She was a traitor to her district."

The comment about my eyes and Phoebe make my fists clench. "Why don't you shut the hell up?"

The other careers hoot with laughter. "Just kill them already," says the girl who I shot in the arm. The blonde boy from one nods.

The boy from four looks almost bored. "Alright." His eyes move over the two of us, assessing us. "I'll take the little one first."

It takes a moment before I realize he means Aza. I raise my knife but he shoves me out of the way and lunges for her. I catch his arm and throw him back, but just barely. The boy from one pulls me off and I scream and kick him angrily. I manage to raise my arm up and elbow him in the nose so hard that it starts bleeding. He drops me.

He drops me and when I hit the ground, Aza screams. My head whips up to see the District 4 boy trying to pull his sword out of her stomach.

Her stomach.

"No!" I scream. This is all too familiar. I race towards her but the District 2 girl grabs me. That's a mistake. I whirl around and stab her properly this time. Her eyes widen and a second later her cannon goes off.

The District 4 boy is running and I try to catch up to him. I want to kill him with my bare hands. The boy from one trips me with his spear and my chin hits the dirt, causing my teeth to clash together painfully.

By the time I get up, they're gone. I rake my hands through my hair and dig my nails into my scalp. They're too short to cause any pain and this frustrates me. I scream again and wrench them out.

"Violet…" Aza calls weakly, quietly. She's still alive. I run to her side, propping up her head on my knee.

"I'm so sorry…" I whisper, hands quaking. "I'm so, so sorry…"

"S'okay," she murmurs. "One of us was going to have to die at some point."

I grip her hand and she grips mine back. Her whole shirt is stained dark like wine and I can't stand to look at it.

"Hey…" Aza whispers, her voice fading. "You have to win now."

"No I don't." I shake my head, streaming tears.

"You have to...for your sister. She needs you." Aza shifts slightly to look at me. "Okay?"

It's strange to see how calm she is now. And of course she's the one consoling me and I'm not even dying. Maybe we're both consoling each other.

"Okay." I tell her.

She trembles a little. "S'all I needed to hear. Good luck, Violet."

I know she's dead before the cannon booms. I just stare at her for a while, quietly, feeling helpless and alone.

I have to get up eventually. I take her backpack off of her gently. They have to clear her body away now. The hovercraft comes and she's lifted in. It hits me hard that she's really gone, but I'm so thirsty, I don't have any tears left. Unscrewing the cap of my water bottle, I take a sip.

It makes me feel better. Almost.

 **Aidan's POV**

I used some of the leftover supplies from the District 7 tributes to bandage up my leg. It's still on fire. I can barely move. I tried yesterday and almost passed out again.

They have a few bandages and some water, but barely any food. I'm so hungry that I wolf it all down too fast.

The sun is high and burning today and I keep drifting off. I'm probably going to die at this point anyway. Unless, by some miracle, I outlast who's left. I've just fallen asleep when I hear a voice.

"Well, well, well. What happened to you?" The voice is familiar, but ragged and tired. My eyes snap open. Sure enough, it's Violet.

"You don't look to good yourself," I shoot back. She is looking pretty worse for wear. Her hair is messy and dusty and there are tear tracks on her cheeks, tracing through the dirt. There's a scab on her chin that looks pretty new.

She cocks her head. " Well, considering I've lost both my allies-"

"What a shame," I yawn, closing my eyes again. If she wants to kill me, she can get it over with for all I care.

She kicks my arm. I open my eyes, mildly annoyed. "I'm trying to die peacefully here."

Rolling her eyes, she drops down to her knees. "You're such an ass sometimes."

"Why, thank you."

"I'm going to bandage that leg properly. You made a mess of it." She scoots over.

"Nobody asked you to help me." I glower at her, but she doesn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, well, you're pretty pathetic and I'm feeling down so I guess you're out of luck." She peels the bandage off slowly and I wince. "Ouch. Who did you make angry?"

"A certain pair from the lumber district. But I managed to kill them."

She shakes her head and takes a fresh bandage and a water bottle out of her bag. "You say that so casually."

I shrug. "I'll be dead like them in no time. What does it matter?"

Violet frowns. Then she takes the skin of my arm between two of her fingers and twists it. "Ow!" I protest, snatching my arm away.

"You're going to give up that easily?" she scoffs, dripping water carefully onto the wound.

It stings and I hiss from the pain. "It's not like I've got much to fight for, Tsu."

Violet raises her eyebrows at this She rips off part of her jacket sleeve and uses it to clean off the dried blood. I growl in pain and she glares at me. "Hold. Still."

"Why are you helping me anyway?"

"I told you, I'm feeling down and you're pathetic."

"I don't need your pity."

"Really?" She starts wrapping the bandage tightly around my leg. Finishing, she sits back on her heels. "Look, I know you're a coward and an idiot-"

"Gee, thanks-"

"But you do have something to fight for." Her eyes are serious.

"Just what the hell do you mean by that?"

"I think you know."

"I most certainly don't, Tsu." Why is she acting like this? Like she knows something I don't. I tap my hand against the ground impatiently. Something hard and metallic hits the ground.

I snatch my hand away from the ground and look at it. How could I forget? The ring. I stare at it. The little golden band seems to taunt me with the truth.

Violet is watching me carefully. "Did he give you that?" she asks, almost softly.

"I don't know who you mean." But my cheeks are starting to burn and I'm glad the sky is turning orange because maybe, just maybe it'll hide it.

"Eddy," she says. "Do you...like him?"

"We're friends," I reply stiffly. I'm highly aware of the fact that we're on camera.

That eye-roll again. "What I _mean_ is...are you in love with him?"

I close my eyes, wishing millions of people aren't watching.

Wishing that he's not watching.

But I have to give an answer, so I tell the truth.

Swallowing, I open my eyes and say, "Yes."

 **Hi again. Were any of you expecting that? The ring should have been a big clue. Sorry to anyone who ships Violet and Aidan because I DON'T. Until next time.**

 **-Maxiecat14**


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh my goodness why can't you just write whenever you want? I haven't been able to write this chapter for a long time so I had to take a break from the story for a while. Anyway...here it is.**

 **Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans.**

 **-Maxiecat14**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

 **Aidan's POV**

I want to disappear. I don't even care that millions of fucking people just heard what I said.

I care that Eddy will hear what I just said. Replayed a hundred times just for good measure. My eyes are closed and I think that maybe, just maybe, I can actually disappear if I try hard enough.

I open them to see Violet studying me quietly. No such luck.

"Wow," is all she says.

Jerking my eyes away from her, I mutter, "Feel free to laugh."

"Oh I won't," Violet stretches her legs up and stares at the sky. "I'm guessing he had no clue?"

"I guess."

"Damn," she says quietly. "In love with your best friend." Like she even cares. I try to harness some of my anger at her, but it isn't there.

"I wouldn't say _in love_ ," I protest.

"You just said it," Violet points out

"No, you did. You asked the question."

She purses her lips to keep from smiling. "And you answered it."

I groan and throw my hands in the air. She laughs, then falls silent, possibly remembering her allies being dead. Okay, her _friends_ being dead. I feel kind of bad for her now. I've hated her for years but...it was just because I felt I had to.

I was one of the rich kids. She was the underdog. It was common knowledge that we had to make her life miserable. I think of Eddy's mother, shut up in the house, slowly growing more insane each day. Of his father. What he's done. Unspeakable things.

We're all fucked up. I see that now.

"So, are we allies now?" I ask her, trying to break the silence.

She looks up and frowns for a moment. Then a slow, small smile passes across her face. "I guess so, Chen."

 **Violet's POV**

Helping Aidan walk is no easy task. If he had a limp before, this is even worse.

"If you get out of here, they'll probably amputate it," I inform him as we hobble along. In this arena, you always have to keep moving. I'm worried about the fact that we haven't encountered any mutts yet.

Face screwed up in pain, he tries to shift all his weight to his other foot. "You really know how to make a guy feel better."

I shrug. "It's the truth."

He rolls his eyes.

It's strange, whatever arrangement we have going on now. We're not friends. But it's like we've never really known each other until now. Enemies on opposite sides of a stupid battle. Eddy Wu's battle.

I don't know what to think of Aidan liking Eddy. I mean, I suspected it. For a long time. But I can't keep thinking (even though Aidan is no saint himself) that he deserves better. Maybe there's something I'm not seeing.

My father once said that love can make you blind. Then he glanced quickly at my mother who smiled drily and said, "Funny. I thought it was revolutions that did that."

Thinking of my mother, I absentmindedly touch the silver chain around my neck. I opened it one night, when it was dark and it would be harder to see. It reacted to my fingerprint when I pressed on it. There's a dial with dashes and numbers on it inside. Could be the timer for the bomb. But what in the hell does Mother think I can do with it? Something this small couldn't possibly blow up an arena.

Right?

Aidan notices. "What's that?" he asks.

My hand snaps away from the chain. "Oh nothing. Just my district token." I realize I've been too hasty in my answer. The Capitol might get suspicious. "It's just…" I say, "It's special to my family. I don't want to think about that right now." I don't say anything about the inside of the pendant. Clearly it was only meant for me to open."

Aidan nods. "Okay. Whatever."

 **Lucy's POV**

Reporters are swarming outside my door with questions about Aidan's outburst on TV. I tell myself this is good. He'll get more sponsors. But I can't stand the constant banging on my door. Against my better judgement, I send Theo out to deal with them.

Someone is knocking again. Setting down my glass of wine (I don't usually drink but this madness is driving me to), I yell. "I'm not taking questions right now!"

"It's Maybelle, hun."

My anger melts away. "Oh," I say. "Come in then."

Maybelle enters, stunning as ever in a shimmering, midnight blue dress. She glances at the wine. "I hope that's in celebration."

"Ugh." I press a hand against my pounding head. "I wish. I'm sorry, Maybelle, but I can't deal with this drama right now."

"Surely it's good news. Aidan will be getting more sponsors."

I sigh. "And what about Violet? Maybelle, I'm getting too attached to them. I can't bear to see either one die."

Maybelle sits down next to me with a concerned expression. "You've watched all the others die. Lucy, hun, you're a legend. No one else from your district has won. If even one of them makes it through-"

"I know!" I practically shout. "I know. I just...ugh." I plop my face into my hands. "There's no escape from this. Being a mentor. There's no escape from that fucking arena."

Maybelle wraps an arm around me. Sometimes, I think she's the only one who can understand me in the Capitol. One of the few anyway.

Theo, master of timing I swear, bursts into the room. "Great news! Adam's confession is giving him more sponsors than ever. Vicki's getting sponsors too. It's absolutely fantastic!"

I stare at him. "Aidan and Violet. You already forgot their names?" I feel a sob coming. Maybe it's the alcohol. Yep, this is why I don't drink.

"Isn't that what I said?" Theo replies brightly.

Glaring, I glance at Maybelle. She purses her lips. "Theo, why don't we take Lucy out. She needs a little distraction."

"Oh, wonderful!" Theo claps. "I'll get the car ready. And Lucy," he pouts, " _try_ to wear something less drab for a change. I'm tired of your gray dresses and navy pantsuits."

I roll my eyes. "Just go."


	18. Chapter 18

**Finals suck. That's all I'm gonna say.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.**

 **Aidan's POV**

There's something about that necklace. The way Violet keeps grabbing at it to see if it's still there. Running her fingers down the smooth silver chain. We've been talking more now, and she's really not that bad. But when I mention the necklace, she shuts down.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I thought we were friends now."

"Grudging allies."

"Says the girl who's helping me."

"I really wonder why. You're such an ass."

It's almost like having another sister. Except my sisters don't argue with me all the time. The gamemakers have cranked up the heat in the arena and it's becoming unbearable. Even with the jackets turned inside out to reflect cold, I'm practically dripping with sweat.

It's bad enough barely being able to walk. So bad that Violet hacked branches off of trees in one of the clearings so I could use them as crutches. They slip awkwardly in my hands and the rough bark turns them red, but they help a little.

"I'm worried," Violet says when we stop for food and water. She hasn't told me where we're going yet, but we've been walking all day.

"Why?" She rolls her eyes. "Specifically," I add.

"I haven't come across any mutts yet. Have you?" she asks, pushing away stray hairs clinging to her forehead.

"No…" I reply. I hadn't thought about it. Stupid, How could I forget about the mutts?

"The gamemakers are holding back." She frowns and takes a bite of a cracker. "I think they want a big finale."

"Probably."

"And they'll get one," she mutters, tugging on the chain of her necklace.

I can't let this go. "What's inside?"

She glances up sharply. "Inside what?"

"The necklace."

"Nothing, Aidan. Just a picture." When I raise my eyebrows, she glares. "A photograph. Ever heard of one?"

"Why can't I see it?"

She glares, if possible, even harder. "It's private. And don't we have more important things to do?"

 **Violet's POV**

Aidan is asking too many questions about the necklace. I want to scream at him that he could be the ruin of us both, but I can't. I just have to hope that he'll leave it alone.

"Where are we going anyway?" he asks when we start again.

"The cornucopia," I answer hoping that he'll stop asking questions.

He stops dead. "Tsu, the careers are there."

"It's Violet. And I know." I start walking again.

"They'll kill us!" he groans, hobbling after me.

"I'm tired of playing it safe," I murmur. "You don't play it safe this late in the game."

Aidan shakes his head, but continues to follow me. "I really want to make it home."

"So do I," I admit. "But only one of us can. If we take this risk, one of us might."

Aidan thinks for a while. "Alright. But if we die, it's your fault."

"Fair enough."

We fall quiet for a while, trudging onward. As the sunlight starts to fade from the artificial sky, we get some relief from the heat. We break out of one of the passages into an open space. I stop short. The cornucopia. I didn't remember it being this close.

"What…" I whisper.

"We're already here?" Aidan wonders and I swear the maze seems to rustle in an unnatural way. We step out further and hear shouts in the distance.

My grip tightens on my knife. "They've seen us!" I hiss.

Aidan gulps and raises a finger. "No, look."

I do and my mouth drops open. Vines are attacking the careers. There's no better word for it. They shriek as the tendrils curl around them, tightening rapidly.

And it's not just the careers. It's all the remaining tributes. We've all been herded into this area.

I turn around, dreading to lay eyes on what I know is true. The passages are gone, leaving nothing but a wall of leaves, ominous, green, and dark.

We're trapped.

 **Thanks to all the people who read this and Happy Holidays!**

 **-Maxiecat14**


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